Two Zany Zebras

Oh, the webs we weave!

2011-09-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

I always wonder what stories my kids tell other people, particularly the teachers at school. What stories about our life do they share and which ones do they keep to themselves? We don't really have any deep dark secrets that if shared would totally destroy our family, but we sure have countless embarassing things that happen to us on a regular basis and I'd rather not have to explain to a teacher about them. Then there are those stories the kids just completely make up. There's not a thread of truth to them, but they can tell it like it's the 100% truth.

Wacky Zacky's class just started a new unit on families. He was given a worksheet and asked to draw a picture of his family. I think Wacky Zacky started to blur the fine line of truth/make-believe when he drew the picture of our family and explained it to his teacher.

Yes, he depicted all five of us in the picture. No, Zany Janie and I don't have Mohawks, our hair is just pulled back in pony tails. No, I'm not technically taller than Papa Z, but that's not the part of the drawing that toes the line of fact or fiction. Do you know what it could be? Take a closer look at Silly Jilly. According to Wacky Zacky he is twirling her in a circle by her feet. Yes, Silly Jilly is a tough cookie because she has had to tolerate bumps and blows from her two older siblings, but we draw the line at carrying her around by her feet! I'm hoping the picture didn't give him any good ideas!

Zany thought of the day: I must say I do like how skinny Wacky Zacky made me! Maybe stretching the truth a bit in a drawing isn't so bad...

A Princess Starts Preschool

2011-09-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

After waiting three long years it was finally Zany Janie's turn to start school. She has been with me every day to drop Wacky Zacky off at school and has been patiently waiting for her turn to start. There were times when she tried to slip in Wacky Zacky's school line, attempting to sneak her way into class. But no more sneaking and wishing she was a little older. The day has finally come!

Zany Janie was bouncing off the walls this morning, giddy with excitement for her first day of school. I don't think she had an ounce of fear in her as she marched into her Junior Kindergarten class wearing her princess backpack. She went right up to her teacher and gave her a hug, then in a flash she was off playing with toys without a glance back at Mommy and Daddy. I know she will love school and I'm happy for her. I'm just a little sad that she's one step closer to being a big girl!

A tribute to the stache

2011-09-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

The moustache...Fads come and go, but the moustache has stood the test of time and still stands strong today! It's a fun word to say and a fun thing to draw on pictures of people. Come on, who doesn't love a good stache? Especially a monster with a moustache! That's right! You can now get your monster with a moustache at my online boutique, Two Zany Zebras!

Never succumb to "pee" pressure

2011-08-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

The minutes were ticking away and the count down was on for nap time. It has been a crazy day and I was really looking forward to a few minutes of peace and quiet. Silly Jilly was already sawing logs and Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie were getting themselves ready for their nap, while I continued working on making a banner for our soccer team. Zany Janie came into the computer room for what I thought was a hug and kiss before her nap when she nonchalantly told me she had peed on Wacky Zacky's floor. I was 100% sure I had not heard correctly so I asked her to repeat herself. She said it again and walked out of the room as if it were no big deal and I wouldn't have 100 questions about it. I charged down the hall still in disbelief, hoping they were just kidding. Wacky Zacky confirmed that Zany Janie had indeed peed on his floor because he had told her to do it. After further questioning, I became 100% sure without a doubt this had happened. As that realization hit, my blood pressure skyrocketed and I calmly told them to go to their rooms because I had to think about what to do about the situation.

I walked downstairs to calm down and called Papa Z at work. We discussed the issue and after I was calm I went back upstairs to talk about what had happened. I found both kids huddled together on Wacky Zacky's bed. They both looked scared and finally Wacky Zacky asked if the police were coming. They thought I had called the police instead of Papa Z. Wacky Zacky was sure Zany Janie was going to do hard time for her crime.

So we talked about the issue and how we don't pee on the floor. Zany Janie still claims she didn't know she wasn't suppose to pee on the floor~she's 4, she knows! We had a discussion about how it's not nice to tell people to do something they know is wrong. And finally we discussed peer pressure. As I started talking about peer pressure Wacky Zacky stopped me and told me he already knew what it meant. I was surprised, but thought maybe there had been discussion about it at school and I let him explain it. He said, "It's when you're not suppose to pee hard on the carpet!". Um, no sweetie that's "pee" pressure not "peer" pressure.

Lesson of the day: Never succumb to "pee" pressure!

Kindergarten Rocks!

2011-08-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally here, the first day of school. And not just any old first day of school, but Wacky Zacky's first day of Kindergarten! The days leading up to this big event have been a mixed bag of emotions. Wacky Zacky has been super excited to start school. I on the other hand thought I was ready for him to take this big step into becoming a big kid, until the past few days. Then the whirlwind of emotions hit. This is my baby boy, my first born, my only son, the one who use to fit in the crook of my arm and wanted to snuggle all the time and here he is ready to go to school. Everyone tells you this will happen, that you'd better enjoy the time you have when they are young because it will go by like the blink of an eye. It's difficult to comprehend this as you are sitting staring into your newborn's eyes, but it's the absolute truth. These past 5 years have gone by far too quickly!

Wacky Zacky 2007

Wacky Zacky 2011

So today finally arrived and the whole family took Wacky Zacky to school. His school is fairly big and we had to park a long way away and walk.

Once we got to the school we encountered what appeared to be mass chaos. I'm sure it's what a typical morning looks like at school. We walked around and found Wacky Zacky's teacher and classroom.

The students don't go into their classrooms until school starts, so Wacky Zacky had to do his first of many line ups. Once he got into line I started to feel the tears prick my eyes. I felt so proud of Wacky Zacky standing in line like a big boy ready for school to start. As the students started walking into the classroom Wacky Zacky did ask for one last kiss from Papa Z and me which unknown to him was exactly what I needed.

So walking away from the school leaving my baby behind I can finally say Kindergarten Rocks! I know he will have a wonderful year!

Summer recap

2011-08-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

Some may say I've been slacking, I'd like to refer to it as just enjoying the summer. For those of you that have been curious as to what my Zany family has been up to over the past few months, enjoy this long summer recap!

Our summer has been jammed pack full of several fun play dates with friends. On one play date, at a fire station, I somehow got suckered into putting on fireman's gear-oxygen tank included-in the 100 degree heat. It did give me an all new respect for firemen.

The kids were in several camps throughout the summer, which made me feel like a full time taxi driver. In addition to an eight week Mega Sports Camp, the kids also participated in:

Swim Lessons: Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky both took swim lessons. Unfortunately for Wacky Zacky he had to miss the last few lessons due to an ear infection. He also missed the last day where after waiting two whole weeks the kids got to conquer the water slides! Zany Janie made sure to rub it in-just a little.

Wacky Zacky participated in a British Soccer Camp. In addition to playing several fun games and building on his soccer skills, he got to learn a few new words/sayings such as "Loo" and "Don't be a donut".

Wacky Zacky and I continued training in karate. Papa Z had to take a break from it for the summer, not after breaking his finger from chopping through a board, but from slamming his finger in a door.

Princess Zany Janie danced among other princesses at a Princess Ballet Workshop. She learned four new dances and got to perform a little recital for the parents at the dance studio. She was upset when she found out the recital was at the studio and not on "The big stage"-I see a diva in the making! It has taken six weeks, but I think the song "Friend like me" from Aladdin is FINALLY out of my head-Wait I take that back-Auuuggghhh!

We went camping at San Onofre State Beach with some good friends. After getting over our camp site being practically a parking lot conveniently located next to the busy interstate with a weight station for trucks directly in front of us, it was a good time! A good time until we realized we would be awaken every 20 minutes throughout the night with Amtrak barreling through!

Despite the facilities, we did have a great weekend. It was fun because our friends have kids the same age as our kids and they all had a fun time playing together.

While camping, we hiked the beach everyday. I may have gained a few more grey hairs watching my kids attempt to boogie board. I was sure they were going to be swept away with the waves and my adrenaline raced the whole time we were at the beach.

I think Zany Janie won dirtiest camper of the whole campground-hands down! She was covered head to toe in sand and dirt the whole time. It didn't help they only had outdoor freezing showers, but I'm guessing the 50 buckets of dirt she poured over her head on a daily basis pushed her into the winning circle.

The final biggest event of the summer was our two week trip to Indiana to see family and friends. We had not been there in over two years and it was good to go back. For some family, it was the first time they got to meet Miss Silly Jilly.

While in Indiana we got to experience not only the humidity of the summer, but we were fortunate to be there to experience record high temps and humidity! Yay for us! It was quite an adjustment to go from dry heat to 100% humidity. It's quite refreshing to always feel like you've just stepped out of the shower.

To keep cool the kids got to learn how to play on a slip-and-slide. They have been deprived of the experience because our backyard isn't big enough for one-unless they want to smash head first into the fence.

On what I believe was the hottest day of the year, we went to the 4-H fair. The kids say they loved seeing the animals, but as you can see Wacky Zacky wouldn't be within a few feet of 'ol Tom the Turkey and if you look really closely you will realize Zany Janie is cowering behind her brother using him as a shield, just in case 'ol Tom tries any funny business.

We drove past one of Indiana's little "hidden gems" numerous times-The Pink Elephant! If you are ever in Indiana it's a must see! It's located directly in front of a liquor store.

Because nothing says "Come buy your booze here" like a pink elephant wearing glasses and holding a martini glass!

We went to Mounds State Park where you can see the biggest hills in Indiana:

Well, maybe not the biggest hills, but I'm guessing it's fairly close!

Silly Jilly had a first while on our trip. She got to feed herself Spaghetti without any help. I'm sure Olive Garden appreciated being a part of the experience!

The highlight of the trip for the kids was being on a farm and feeding the animals. Grandpa had three little helpers every morning and night to help him. I'm not sure how he manages without them.

While in Indiana Wacky Zacky found a new passion. At the young age of five, he has decided what he wants to be when he grows up: A cowboy! And not just any cowboy, he wants to be a bull rider. Since his proclamation he started wearing a teal bandanna with animals-just like a real cowboy!

You can imagine his excitement when we flew into the Orange County airport and he saw the biggest cowboy of all time-John Wayne!

I'm guessing living in Southern California may set up some obstacles on his dream, but if that's what he wants to do then I say shoot for the stars! And Scooter (our dog), you'd better watch out because there's a little cowboy that needs a practicin' pony to ride and you may just turn into that pony!

So that's our action packed summer in a nutshell. I'm hoping things slow down just a tad as fall approaches us!

She is one of my favorite things!

2011-06-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Zany Janie was in her first ever Ballet recital. I can't believe how much she adores ballet. She seems to live and breath it. She prefers to read books about ballet, she adores the Angelina Ballerina movies, and she even has several ballet dolls. She has been looking forward to the dance recital since she first laid eyes on a picture of her costume.

The closer the date of her recital, the more excited Zany Janie became and the more anxious I became. I am a mom that does not have good hair styling skills. I somehow managed to put her hair in a bun for class, but by the end of class most of it was falling in her face. I was also directed to put make-up on her-not too light or her face would be washed out in the lights, but not too dark that she looked like a clown. Hmmm...That's a fine line for a 4-year-old. Add just a touch of color and it quickly begins to look over the top and a bit "Toddlers and Tiaras".

Thank goodness she had a dress rehearsal so I could work out the kinks with her hair and make-up. I am proud to say her hair remained in a tight bun for both her dress rehearsal and her actual recital. My late 80's big hair style phase actually came in handy-I had experience with Aqua Net and knew how to use it's powers.

Some may say I can't be unbiased since she is my daughter, but I think she was absolutely beautiful!

She did a great job at the dress rehearsal. I was so proud of her. She loved the audience and put 100% into her performance. Then the next day (Friday) she woke up with a high fever! Cootie bugs had been circulating throughout our house for the past week and a half and somehow Zany Janie had managed to fight them off, but even the feistiest come down with something from time to time. She was determined to perform on Saturday. She rested and did her best to get better.

Saturday morning her fever fluctuated from 100 to 102.8! She continued to state she would perform. Despite not eating for two days and feeling horrible she was determined enough to get through the performance. Before you think I am a horrible mother, I will say her fever did go down to 98.9 right before we left for her recital. She remained backstage throughout the whole show so I couldn't check in with her. I did pack snacks for her and hoped she would eat something so she wouldn't pass out. Then the moment finally came. She did her whole dance to "My Favorite Things", putting 100% into it, and looked like she loved every second of it.

I cannot express the feelings I felt when I saw her on stage. I'm guessing most parents feel the same way. I was so proud of her! I couldn't believe how beautiful she looked! And I couldn't even begin to imagine how she could be enjoying performing in front of a hundred complete strangers! In that aspect she is the complete opposite of me! She is a performer!

After the bows, the curtain closed, the music stopped, and Zany Janie passed out! Just kidding! She held it together until I got her and then she could hold it together no longer. By the time we got home her temperature had shot up to 103.2 and she was beyond exhausted. I felt bad for her, but there was no way she would have let us keep her home and miss the performance.

Later that night Zany Janie began complaining and questioning why she was not able to go on stage and do a solo. That girl is a true performer. She also got to experience first hand what it means when they say "The show must go on!"

Zany thought of the day: Try to listen to "My Favorite Things" no less than 70 times and see if you can possibly get "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens; Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens; Brown paper packages tied up with strings; These are a few of my favorite things" out of your head. Come on try it. You know you want to!

Works like magic!

2011-06-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

When it comes to dealing with kids there are few things that really work like magic when they are hurt. Of course an ice cream cone can typically raise a kid's spirit, but what if you don't have any ice cream at home? Sending the offending brother or sister to time out usually does the trick in our house if the victim isn't "really" hurt. But what can you do for all those monster owies your child gets throughout a typical day?

As you can imagine, since I have three young kids, there are many bumps and bruises to deal with on a typical day. That is why I created Hot/Cold Ouchy Bags. They are perfect for when your little one feels they have a monster owie! Just keep them in the freezer and get them out when needed. I have found my kids will usually immediately calm down when I give them the ouchy bag.

They are great for bruises, bumps, muscle aches, headaches, ear aches, bug bites, bee stings, sunburns, fever relief, or just to cool down from a hard day of playing. Don’t limit these little monsters for just the kids! Adults can use them too for sinus headaches, backaches, muscle tension, and even to help reduce soreness and clogged milk ducts for the breast feeding mama.

With summer upon us, you might want to stock up on these little life savers. Five new Hot/Cold Ouchy Bags were just listed in my baby boutique Two Zany Zebras! Hurry in before they POOF and disappear!

If a tree falls in the forest...

2011-06-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" If I was the philosophical type, that may have been what I asked myself right after Papa Z announced we were going to go hiking in Forest Falls. But alas I am not and I think my immediate thought was, "What?! It's 10ish we will need food! We will need to eat! Will there be food?! I need food in my belly if we are going on mountain roads! You know how I get car sick on mountain roads! Hmmm....What do I feel like puking up in the car today?"-or something to that effect. I am happy to announce the mountain roads were not as curvy as I had imagined and I got through the trip with minimal dizziness.

Prior to this trip, I had never heard of Forest Falls. Papa Z was drawn to it because he wanted to take the family on a hike and the web page for Forest Falls proclaimed that "Many refer to Forest Falls as "little Yosemite". Really? That's a big proclamation! We shall see!

So we packed some snacks, food, and drinks and began our journey. But not without a stop to KFC for some finger lickin' goodness.

Forest Falls has a beautiful area with day camping sites. We enjoyed our pre-hike meal under enormous trees while listening to rushing water.

Feeling energized from our energy packed meal of KFC, Cheetos, and watermelon, we began our hike. I assumed since we were taking three young children-two of whom were hoofing it and one which was tethered to Papa Z's chest-it was going to be an easy hike. It wasn't too bad at the beginning, it was a dirt/sand path. Then the path became sprinkled with boulders you had to climb over or go around. This wasn't even too bad as long as you kept the thought of rattlesnakes out of your mind. I didn't become concerned until I saw the log we had to cross to get over to the other side. For those of you that don't know, I am probably considered an anxious mom. I'll admit it, I can look at a situation and immediately gauge all the things that could possibly go wrong. So you can imagine the scenarios going through my mind as I watched this little scene:

Wacky Zacky being pulled across while Silly Jilly dangled helplessly from Papa Z's chest. It did get my adrenaline flowing and raised my anxiety level. I will admit I did have the camera ready to capture any missteps causing one or all three of them to take a swim in the creek.

Then we came upon a beautiful area with a small waterfall. This was just a bonus one because the "Little Yosemite" fall was further up the hill!

After a very terrifying hike (for me) we made it to the look out point for the bigger falls. The hike consisted of me attempting to keep Zany Janie from falling off the cliff just inches off the path. I don't know why she turns into Mr. Peepers at the most inopportune times! While the falls were not exactly like Yosemite, it was beautiful and worth the hike.

The kids were not impressed with the waterfalls, but couldn't keep their hands out of the water and would have spent the whole day there playing.

Overall, I would recommend this hike to anyone who plans to be in the near vicinity of Forest Falls.

Zany thought of the day: So back to the original question-If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Hmmm....That's a tough one, oh wait! What's that shiny thing?

Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!

2011-06-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Zany Janie turned the Big 0-4! To celebrate this monumental birthday she insisted on having a Rapunzel themed birthday party. We had fun planning the party and found the Internet to have a wealth of ideas on this theme.

I have never made invitations in the past and quite frankly really didn't want to make some sort of Rapunzel invitation, until I came across this idea. I think they turned out super cute! See here for a tutorial.

Besides hanging lots of yellow, green, and purple balloons around the house, I tried to be creative with the decorations. I made four very long (probably 15 feet long) yarn braids which I placed on the door and throughout the house. The kids loved them and by the end of the party they had taken them down and were having fun playing with them.

I also made lanterns to symbolize the lanterns from the movie. I had planned on making several and having them throughout the house, but decided since it was a day time party we really didn't need glowing lanterns. For a tutorial to make the lanterns go here.

I do have a Cricut machine and used it to make some decorations, but was disappointed that there is not a Rapunzel cartridge. I ended up using the Paper Doll Dress up Cartridge to make a princess, then used yarn to make "Rapunzel" hair. I also used the Cricut to make the flag banner.

Since Pascal is a main part of the movie, I wanted to use him in some games and as decorations. The only problem was I didn't have a Chameleon on any of my cartridges. I had to get really creative. I used the Zooballoo cartridge to cut out an iguana then cut out a monkey (using just the tail) for the tail and tongue of Pascal. I know they are kinda funky, but you have to admit they are cute!

Going along with the Rapunzel/Pascal theme, I made these cute party blowers for a game. The kids really seemed to love them. You can find the tutorial to make them here.

We didn't get all that creative with the food. We had your typical hamburgers/hot dogs. We did have an assortment of fruit and skewers so everyone could make their own Fruit "Tower" kabobs. We also made these adorable jello boats to represent when Rapunzel and Flynn were watching the lanterns in the sky.

One game we played was pin the frying pan on Flynn. I got this idea, as well as several other ideas for the party from the Super Mom Moments Blog.

The kids thought it was hilarious to try to put the frying pan on Flynn's face. After the game some of them were trying to put the frying pan on each other's face.

We also made a Rapunzel Scavenger Hunt separating the boys and girls into groups. Each group had to find colored "Pascals" hidden throughout the house/outside. In order to earn a prize they had to do an activity related to the movie Tangled at each Pascal. Some of the activities included: Yelling the line "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let your hair down!"; holding your breath; Using a frying pan to hit a balloon with a face drawn on it; using the Pascal party blower's tongue to hit Flynn in the ear; testing ones sense of smell; and finding a hidden tiara.

Since Rapunzel loves to paint we decided to be brave and let 10 kids under the age of 6 loose with paint and paint brushes. They loved creating their own masterpieces and actually kept all the paint on the plastic tarp below them-at least we have yet to find paint on the walls!

Finally, no party is complete until a Pinata has been broken! I found this cute star Pinata at none other than Walmart. It was cheaper than any other Pinata we have had at parties and it actually held up twice as long!

And as an added bonus, the ends of the star could be broken off into several princess hats! You can't beat that with a stick...or can you?

Of course we had a cake, but it was a store bought cake. Despite having the "Crazed Cricut Mom" (see her blog here) as my good friend, I just couldn't stomach the stress it would take to attempt to make my own cake. Maybe in the future...Probably not, but maybe...

I think it turned out to be a wonderful party for Zany Janie! The theme was a fun one and both girls and boys could enjoy it.

Zany thought of the day: What's your favorite theme for a party?

Good Vibrations

2011-05-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend my sweet little Zany Janie turned four. I am not unlike every other parent out there that sits in shock on their kid's birthday shaking their head and asking themselves, "Where on earth did the time go?" My only answer is I have no idea, it's just one big four year blur.

To celebrate Zany Janie's big day, the Zany family went to the San Diego Zoo. We still drove to the zoo through scattered showers and knowing San Diego had a 40 mph wind advisory. Despite the forecast it turned out to be a great day at the zoo. We even took a guided bus tour throughout the zoo seeing most of the animals without having to hoof it up and down all the hills.

It was an exciting day for the birthday girl. There were so many highlights of the trip. That's why you can imagine my shock when Zany Janie told me her favorite part of the zoo.

It wasn't seeing a Polar Bear play with a ball.

Or an enormous Brown Bear pacing back and forth.

Nor seeing the Panda Bear that she insisted on seeing despite having to wait in a 30 minute line just to catch a glimpse of the persnickety little beast.

It wasn't even riding on the Skyfari Aerial Tram, however this did come in a close second.

My sweet little Zany Janie's favorite part of the day was sitting on a vibrating chair while Papa Z and I finished our lunch. You know the chairs they have at malls and apparently zoos where you feed it quarters and it vibrates to help relax your body. I didn't know it would be such a significant part of her day so I didn't even take a picture of it. Go figure!

One zany free for all!

2011-05-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

It was a wild weekend at our house! I wish I could say it was from a crazy, fun and wild party, but unfortunately that is just not the case. Papa Z was lucky enough to escape town and miss all the fun, he was camping in Yosemite throughout the weekend. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary until Friday night when I had a hard time staying asleep. I rarely have problems falling or staying asleep, but for some reason I kept waking up feeling "a little funny". I attempted several times to chalk it up to Papa Z being gone and would roll over to go back to sleep until yet again I found myself awake. Then I began to feel that odd little lump in the back of my throat. You know the one you can barely feel and are unsure if you are imagining it even being there, that is until you begin tasting that odd metallic taste dripping in the back of your throat. I found myself playing the "if I just stay in bed and don't move it will all go away" game pretending like I have any control over the situation. Waiting until the last possible second, holding onto all hope that it won't actually happen, I had to run to the bathroom and get sick. I will spare you the details, but will say I had a long night of tummy problems that unfortunately did not end at 6:00 AM when the kids came sauntering into my room ready for an action packed day.

I'm sure they were speaking at a normal level, but at the time it seemed like both Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky were talking into megaphones at the highest possible volume. Each shrill tone pounded into my head and made my stomach lurch. Thankfully the remote control was within reach and I knew the number of the one channel which could possibly make this all stop....Ahhh....Sweet silence....That is until Silly Jilly woke up and began crying.

I hobble down the hall to get her, open her door, and am permeated with the rancid smell of vomit. Guess who else is sick? Really? It's not enough that I'm barely able to function with three little ones in my care, but now one of them is sick too?

I'd love to tell you about my day, I'm sure it was a riot to watch safely from the outside looking in, but it's just a blur of trips to the bathroom and views from the couch. While Silly Jilly and I cuddled on the couch, Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie had free reign of the house and they took full advantage! Those two little turkeys would sit at the bathroom door making heaving and retching noises as I got sick, giggling and cackling about how they hoped I'd never get better! They also got to have their fill of candy and were somehow able to reach it from shelves we thought were "unreachable" to them.

Thankfully the next day I was feeling a bit better and was able to take back the little control I had to begin with! I definitely don't recommend getting sick when your hubby is out of town!

Zany thought of the day: Is it just me or do you not fully appreciate a clean toilet until you are praying to the porcelain gods?

Slide Baby Slide!

2011-05-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Baseball season is quickly coming to an end. It was a good year-No injuries, the kids had lots of fun, and I somehow managed to get two kids at two different practices in two different locations. Wacky Zacky recently received his FOURTH trophy and in a few short days Zany Janie will receive her very first trophy.

Wacky Zacky thinks he's in the Big League now that he started doing coaches pitch. He's actually a good little ball player, but I found myself cringing every time he played the pitcher because I was sure he was going to take a line drive to the face. He seemed to alternate playing first base, the pitcher, and the catcher. Throughout the season he did some serious work on perfecting his slide to home base-Nothing impresses the ladies like a dramatic slide to home plate.

It's hard to say what Zany Janie thinks about t-ball. She just seems happy to be there. She would chase after the ball with the pack of other kids, but I'm not really certain she wanted to actually make contact with the ball. She had a great time when she decided to combine ballet with t-ball for the "ultimate sport". She stood on the pitchers mound twirling and doing plies in her cleats. During her last two games she decided to slide home, the only problem is she slides about 6 feet away from the plate, but boy does it look impressive!

Zany thought of the day: So for old times sake, let's sing:

Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,

I don't care if I never get back,

Let me root, root, root for the home team,

If they don't win it's a shame.

For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,

At the old ball game.

Hey, do you have any cracker jack? I'm having a hankering for cracker jack! I wonder why? Hmmm....I wonder where I can get some?

Wet 'N Wild at Whitewater

2011-05-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went on an adventure to the Whitewater Preserve. We had heard others talk about it, but had never ventured there for ourselves. Unfortunately for me once you get off the interstate you have to drive down a curvy road for several miles. Luckily for both Papa Z and me I didn't get carsick, but was dizzy and felt like I was staggering around for a little while. Once we stopped we all jumped out and started exploring the area.

It was a beautiful area and I felt at one with nature until I saw the menacing sign which warned of Bears, Mountain Lions, and Rattlesnakes! Nothing like the fear of venomous hungry animals to put your mind at ease!

There were several crystal clear pools throughout the area filled with what appeared to be huge trout. I say they were trout because I'm no fish expert and trout are one of the few "freshwater fish" names I know. Sorry people, but no fishing! Come on, it's a nature preserve!

The nature preserve claims the canyon has a robust population of bighorn sheep. Trying to see any of them was just like going to the bighorn sheep exhibit at the zoo-None of those "mythical creatures" were to be seen!

We hiked on the Pacific Crest Trail for a few miles. Somehow I always get stuck being the follower and never the leader...But that's okay, I was busy keeping a keen eye and ear out for bears, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes.

The highlight of the trip was playing in the river. We had to walk a long way, but we finally found an area without rapids that would take out the children. After the initial shock of feeling wet cold squishy mud between their toes passed, the kids were happily splashing and playing in the river. Zany Janie even learned how to pee in the wilderness. I'm hoping she doesn't decide to try it at our pool this summer!

Overall, it was a great experience and I'm sure we will be back to visit again soon. Maybe next time if we come across a nasty rattlesnake, a bighorn sheep will gallop down a sheer cliff and come to our rescue! Maybe, but I doubt it!

Monsters! Monsters! Everywhere!

2011-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give a big thank you to Jaclyn-Kate-Photography for taking these adorable pictures of my Zany creations! I also wanted to thank While you sleep, I crochet for making the adorable matching hats! See her shop for ordering information. You can order your own Zany Monster shirt in my baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

May your eggs be filled with jelly beans and your Chocolate Bunnies be hollow!

Please say "I Do"!

2011-04-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was quite the day in our house. A typical day in our house can be quite chaotic with three kids under the age of 6 running about, but for some reason yesterday I felt like I was refereeing a featherweight MMA (mixed martial arts) match. It was mainly Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie in on the action with Silly Jilly cheering them on. There seemed to be armbars, anaconda choke holds, guillotine choke holds, and headlocks galore going on throughout the day! Unfortunately they both refused to tap out so I had to be the referee to make sure no bones were broken or blood was seen.

So what could possibly cause such barbaric behavior in these little angels? The answer is simple! Ken would not marry any Barbie dolls unless they had blond hair!

Yes, you read it right, your eyes did not deceive you. There were MULTIPLE, not just a few, blow-ups in our house because Wacky Zacky would not allow the Ken doll to marry all of Zany Janie's Barbies. He would only allow the holy matrimony to take place with the blond dolls. By the end of the day and after what seemed like the 20th blow-up, I was ready to scream, "For Heaven's sake Ken! Just say I DO!"

Zany thought of the day: Is it just me or has the Ken doll gotten more and more flamboyant over the years?

Goodnight sleepy head!

2011-03-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Getting three young kids to bed each night is no easy feat. Papa Z and I both go up to put them to bed and it still takes a good 20 minutes to get everyone settled. Zany Janie and Silly Jilly typically go down without a fight. Wacky Zacky on the other hand is a different story. I don't know if it's a gender thing or just some crazy thing Wacky Zacky does, but over the past couple of years he has developed some odd night time rituals.

It all started around two years ago when he use to lay on Papa Z's chest to fall asleep. Before he would lay down he would say a series of 4-5 body parts (i.e. head, shoulder, face, elbow) which he wanted Papa Z to repeat. As Papa Z would say each body part, Wacky Zacky would whack himself in that area of his body. I know-crazy huh? At times it was hard to watch as he hit himself in the face as hard as he could. I must say I do find it interesting that Wacky Zacky never shed a tear as he smacked himself, yet if Zany Janie did so much as brush past him he would be wailing! This odd nighttime ritual lasted at least a year.

I don't know when it actually happened, but somehow in the past year Wacky Zacky is finally going to sleep without having to lay on Papa Z's chest. His bedtime ritual has recently morphed from picking which superhero he wanted to dream about into several statements and questions. He has said these statements/questions so many times that he can now say them super fast. Once they pass his lips he's ready for bed. So for now this is what I hear at warp speed before I walk out of his room at night: "Iloveyou! Goodnight! IfIgetoutofbedortalkwillIbeintrouble? Areyouserious? Areyougoingdownstairs? BuzzLightyearandDinosaurs! Goodnight!" Whew! It makes me tired just thinking about it! I think I might need to go take a nap! "Goodnight! Thanksforreadingthispost! Leaveamessageifyoulike!"

Zany thought of the day: Do you or your children have any odd night time rituals?

Guess Who?

2011-03-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the most unbelievable things come out of my children's mouths! It's amazing, one second we are having a normal conversation then "BANG!" they say something that leaves me wide-eyed and mouth gaping! Sometimes it's so outrageous that I fear what they say to people when I am not around.

Just the other day Wacky Zacky, Zany Janie, and I were playing "Guess Who?" when one of those unbelievable things came out of Wacky Zacky's mouth.

We were in the midst of our fifth game of "Guess Who?" going back and forth asking the normal questions: "Is your person a male?" "Does your person have brown hair?" "Is your person wearing glasses?" "Is your person wearing a hat?" When all of a sudden Wacky Zacky busts out with, "Does your person have pussy face?" Um, well...how do you answer that question? Before you get offended and forever leave my blog please let me explain. There is a rational explanation! No, we do not use the phrase "Pussy Face" in our house. However, we have on occasion told the kids they were acting like a sour puss. So Wacky Zacky has developed his own lingo and morphed the phrase sour puss into pussy face to describe this type of face:

I can only hope I am not around when he utters this little gem in public and asks why someone is making pussy face! For now Papa Z and I get to play the Guess Who? game of who gets to be there when this happens!

Zany thought of the day: Does your family use any strange catchphrases that others might look at you wide-eyed and mouth gaping?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,

And may trouble avoid you

Wherever you go.

–Irish blessing

Wishing you and yours a Happy St. Patrick's Day! If you are not wearing green pinch yourself! Seriously, pinch yourself! You are NOT wearing green! It's the rule, now pinch yourself!

If you are looking for something green to brighten your day, head on over to Two Zany Zebras for a wide array of Green Monsters!

Zany thought of the day: Here’s to you and yours and to mine and ours. And if mine and ours ever come across to you and yours, I hope you and yours will do as much for mine and ours as mine and ours have done for you and yours!

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

2011-03-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

“Look at me!
Look at me!

Look at me NOW!

It is fun to have fun

But you have

to know how.”

~The Cat in the Hat

Dr. Seuss

We are big fans of Dr. Seuss. When I was younger I collected Dr. Seuss books and now enjoy sharing them with my kids. In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday we went to the Public Library where they had a Birthday Bash honoring Dr. Seuss. Zany Janie and Silly Jilly dressed up in these adorable dresses from Aunt Ju Ju:

At the party they got to make hats and go fishing:

Play pin the green egg on the ham and make fun creations:

And of course read and have fun with Dr. Seuss books:

All the fun inspired me to make some new things for my baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras. Currently my shop has six fun new Dr. Seuss Hot/Cold OUCHY BAGS for when you have a monster owie:

I also made six sets of ZANY MUCUS WIPES for runny noses or drooly pools of goo:

Zany thought of the day: What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

A Giant Birthday Sandwich!

2011-03-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

Papa Z recently celebrated his birthday. In his old age he must have been feeling adventurous because he chose to forgo the traditional Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream cake from Baskin-Robbins and asked me to make a cake for him with the help of our kids! REALLY? You want the kids and me to make your cake? You do realize I'm not the best baker and I'm guessing with the help of the kids it won't get any better! He added even more pressure to me by not giving any input on what kind of cake he wanted. So that is how Papa Z ended up with a Giant Birthday Sandwich! I found the recipe through the Taste of Home.

Giant Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 packages (16 ounces each) ready-to-bake refrigerated peanut butter cup cookie dough (good luck finding
this, I ended up using Peanut Butter dough with chocolate chips in it)
6 whole chocolate graham crackers, crushed
1 cup cold milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1-1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
1/4 cup Nutella

Directions:
*Let dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Press into two ungreased 9-in. springform pans; sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until set. Cool completely. *In a large bowl, whisk the milk, cream and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. In another large bowl, beat cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Add pudding and ice cream; beat until smooth.
*Spread over one cookie crust. Remove sides of second pan; place crust, crumb side down, over filling. Cover and freeze for 4 hours or until firm.
*Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving. Place hazelnut spread in a small microwave-safe bowl; cover and microwave at 50% power for 1-2 minutes or until smooth, stirring twice. Remove sides of pan; cut dessert into slices. Drizzle with Nutella.
*Enjoy!

And the Oscar goes to...

2011-02-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

Wacky Zacky?

Well, not an actual Oscar...Surprisingly he wasn't formally selected this year, but based on his ability to act, Actors far and wide had better keep their eye out for this little Thespian. His best work was just the other day when Papa Z was belting out a song from The Lion King:

"In the jungle, the mighty jungle

The lion sleeps tonight
In the jungle the quiet jungle
The lion sleeps tonight
A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh
A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh"

At that exact time Wacky Zacky moved from the couch to the table to eat dinner. The next thing we knew Wacky Zacky was screaming and crying while holding his ears. This wasn't just a little whimper, it was the drool hanging and snot spewing kind of crying. Just the kind of crying we've heard when he had a severe ear infection. Papa Z quickly picked him up and started rocking him trying to get him to calm down while I quickly heated up the Boo Boo pad for his ear. After several minutes he finally calmed down enough to effectively communicate with us. Apparently he didn't actually have pain in his ear from an ear infection, his ears hurt because of Papa Z's singing! I know it was a bit off-key and pitchy, but it definitely didn't warrant that kind of reaction!

In the future, Papa Z, may I suggest The Beatles "Find a little help from my friends":

"What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key."

Snow in Sunny Southern California?

2011-02-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

You can imagine my surprise as I log onto Facebook and start reading posts about how it's snowing in our city! We live in sunny Southern California. How could we possibly have snow? I moved from Indiana to California to get out of that yucky stuff. So I ran outside to see the snow and all I saw was cold wet rain plopping down from the sky. The next day I logged onto Facebook and again was shocked to see pictures of snow from friends who live only a few miles from me. I quickly peeked outside and just saw wet pavement...Feeling left out of the excitement of snow we decided to scrounge up as much "snow clothes" as possible and head for Oak Glen. It was Zany Janie and Silly Jilly's first time in the snow and Wacky Zacky's first time in the snow since he was under the age of 2. On the way to Oak Glen Wacky Zacky was a little worried about melting if he touched the snow and asked a few times what would happen to him if the snow touched him. He is sweet as sugar, but come on! Once we got there we realized we weren't the only ones with the idea to drive to the snow, but the whole family was excited!

Well, I guess I shouldn't say the WHOLE family was excited...At least four of the five members were excited. This was the one exception:

She basically tolerated the snow. I can't be certain if she didn't really care for the snow or if she was completely and utterly embarrassed of her outfit.

The whole family had fun having a snowball fight and surprisingly no one cried when they were hit in the face or when snow went down their coat-including Silly Jilly who took one to the face and a few which went down her back!

Zany Janie, the master manipulator, even got Papa Z to make a snowball for her and once she got it in her little hands, she threw it at him as hard as she could!

Zany Janie had fun making her first snow Angel:

And Silly Jilly and Zany Janie made their first snowman:

Minus the eyes, nose, mouth, arms, hat, and scarf.

As much fun as it was to play in the snow, it was a lot of fun to drive away and leave it behind! I sure don't miss dealing with snow and ice all winter long!

Pump it up!

2011-02-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

So after multiple times of Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie asking me, "Mommy, why do you have a squishy butt?" or "Mommy, when will my butt be big like yours?" I decided it was time to get serious about exercise. Even though I know it doesn't matter how many squats I do, I will always have a big squishy butt-I was born with it and will always have it. (Maybe it's some genetic adaptation to keep me from hurting myself if I fall down?...) Nevertheless, I needed something to jump start my sporadic exercise program. That was when the P-90 program crossed my path. I started it 7 days ago and so far so good. I'm not expecting to get the "meat head" bodybuilder look, but am hoping to drop those last few baby pounds. All three kids are right by my side most of the time doing their own fitness routine. I never knew how dangerous working out could be until now. I've lost count how many times the exercise band snapped out of the kid's hands nearly striking me in the eye or how I've almost been swept to the floor with a kick to the thigh from Wacky Zacky. Silly Jilly has even climbed onto my back and rode me like a horse while I'm feebly attempting to do what many would not even call "girl push-ups". But after the 7 days, I can say I'm feeling stronger and healthier. I plan to stick it out all 90 days even if I cross the finish line looking rode hard and put up wet with only one eye and a bum leg!

Zany thought of the day: What do you do for exercise?

Monkey Business

2011-02-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a "One Day Only" Garage Sale. In theory it sounded like a fantastic idea. I must have been in a sleep deprived state when this decision was made. It felt great to go through all the nooks and crannies of our house and take mounds of things we didn't need anymore to the garage. It wasn't until we had to actually clean out the garage that this fantastic idea seemed like the worst decision ever! We were now faced with a garage filled with boxes, bags, and who know what else piled as high as possible and on the brink of an avalanche. And there it stayed until finally one day Papa Z and I took on the task of going through the mess to organize it for the garage sale. I'd like to say it was smooth sailing once we got started, but as our supposedly "sleeping children" stomped up and down the hallway above us, we knew we were in for more of a challenge than we had bargained for. Voices may have raised, choice words may have slipped, and at one point Papa Z sentenced all three kids and myself to the house. If truth be told, I was kinda happy to have a break from the chaos.

We had put off the task of pricing everything until the night before the sale, which looking back was not such a great idea. By the end of the night I could care less if we sold the CD player for 5 cents or $5, just put the stinkin' sticker on it and move on!

After a very short night, the day had finally arrived! We woke up very early and started putting everything out. We had over 500 pieces of baby clothes that I wanted arranged neatly. "Why?" you may ask. I don't know, it seemed like such a good idea. A good idea until I walked out and could barely see what I was doing because it was too early for the sun to even think about rising! A good idea until I found myself crawling on the ground in the wee hours of the morning in 38 degree weather! A good idea until the coyotes decided to make a kill in the hills around us sounding like they were just across the street...

But I'll let you be the judge:

We actually ended up doing well and made even more money than anticipated, thanks to my monkey collection! Oh, didn't I tell you about my monkey collection? I don't even know when or how this strange collection started, but at some point in my life I decided my life could not be complete until I had a monkey collection-doesn't everyone go through that phase? I collected them for several years and had accumulated enough monkey stuffed animals, candles, plates, cookie jars, tables, and knick-knacks to overtake our house. I'm not kidding, at our old house we had lots of monkey things in every room! Once we moved into our new house I decided I would pack away the monkeys and only leave the precious few treasured monkeys out. The boxes sat in our garage for 3 years and I decided to sell them in the garage sale. I thought I would finally be rid of the monkey phase until I started noticing them multiply in our house! The stuffed animals that didn't sell somehow kept making their way into our house. Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky now EACH have at least 10 of those monkeys. Silly Jilly even has a couple of monkeys for her collection.

I guess the monkey collecting gene has been passed down! Let's just hope they grow out of it sooner rather than later!

Zany thought of the day: Have you ever collected anything your friends considered odd?

My little Ballerina Babe!

2011-02-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

Today was a very big day in Zany Janie's life! Today was the day she took her very first step onto a dance floor. Sure she has been dancing since she could sit up, but now she is starting to learn the technical aspects of dance. I'm hoping she will learn a few new moves so she can throw away some of the moves that would make your eyebrows raise...

This morning Zany Janie was overjoyed with the thought of going to class. She was grinning from ear to ear once she put on her ballet uniform. Wacky Zacky seemed to have a case of the green monsters and was acting a tad bit jealous of the whole ballet classes going on without him.

I don't know what they put in the air, but once those ballerinas stepped onto the dance floor those little girls became intensely focused. I think next time I go I might take a bottle to try to capture some of that magic!

For her first class, I think Zany Janie did wonderful! She didn't always look like the graceful swan, but she danced her little heart out and tried her best.

Everyone around her had better watch out when they practice kicks. I think Zany Janie has picked up how to do karate kicks from her Mama because her ballet kicks looked like they could take out a grown man!

I have always been more of a tomboy than a "Girly-Girl", but I must admit it melted my heart seeing my sweet little girl prancing around in all pink!

Zany thought of the day: In the picture above, is it just me or is there a slight resemblance to Saturday Night Live's Sally O'Malley character? I can just hear Zany Janie yelling, "I can kick, stretch, and kick! I'm three!"

Angry Birds-Watch out!

2011-01-27T13:46:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I can say two words and half the people reading this will know exactly what I'm talking about: "Angry Birds". Yes, I'm talking about the very addicting App "Angry Birds". For those of you who have been living under a rock, Angry Birds is a video game App where you use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs who are hiding in various structures. The goal is to destroy all the pigs on each level. I know, it sounds a wee bit ridiculous and gory, but if you are like millions of others you will not be able to put it down once you start. Our family has become a bit obsessed with the game. I must say Wacky Zacky seems to be the worst inflicted. Not to toot my own horn, but I am the furthest along in the game. That's right Papa Z, to put it bluntly, I'm kicking your butt!

To try to regain a balance, the past few days we have not played Angry Birds. Wacky Zacky must have been going through withdrawals because he started acting rather strange. As I contently relaxed on the couch feeding Silly Jilly, Wacky Zacky began throwing himself at me. He gradually moved back to the other couch where Papa Z was sitting and asked Papa Z to "kick him" which would launch him forward to my couch. After a few times Zany Janie ran over to get into the action. Next thing I knew both Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky were propelling themselves at me. I started yelling and asking what on Earth were they doing? Wacky Zacky simply stated, "We are playing Angry Birds". I thought it was amusing for a brief period of time, until I realized that meant I was the pig! Oink! Oink!

Zany thought of the day: Heed this warning! If you decide to go out and get the Angry Birds App be very, very careful! It may change your life forever!

Hot off the sewing machine!

2011-01-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

They are back in my baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras! Hot off the sewing machine!!!!

This cute Hot/Cold Ouchy Bag is perfect for when your little one feels they have a monster owie! These Hot/Cold Ouchy Bags are great for bruises, bumps, muscle aches, headaches, ear aches, bug bites, bee stings, sunburns, fever relief, or just to cool down from a hard day of playing. Don’t limit these little monsters for just the kids! Adults can use them too for sinus headaches, backaches, muscle tension, and even to help reduce soreness and clogged milk ducts for the breast feeding mama.

Because these Ouchy Bags are fun and zany monsters they are appealing to children and you have more of a chance of them actually keeping the Ouchy Bag on the owie! I have three young children and I have found that these Hot/Cold Ouchy Bags calm them almost immediately after they get a monster owie!

To Infinity and Beyond Birthday Bash!

2011-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

After serious contemplation, Wacky Zacky decided he wanted to have a Toy Story themed party for his Fifth Birthday. He was super excited about the party and wanted to put in his two cents on every aspect of it.

I cut out several Toy Story characters using my Cricut Machine. Wacky Zacky helped decide where to put the characters throughout our house. Of course the "bad guys" (Lotso, Pete the Prospector, and Emperor Zurg) were all clustered together within firing range of a game...We'll get to that later!

We like to incorporate fun and silly games for the kids to play at our parties. Using the Toy Story theme we came up with several fun ones to play including:

1. Army Men Jar: We made a guessing jar filled with green army men. It was cute to hear the little kids guess anywhere from 2 army men to 100 army men. We gave a prize to the person who had the best and worst guess.

2. Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Gallery: We stacked plastic cups on a small table and let the kids try to shoot them off with a nerf gun. It just so happened that the table was placed under the "bad guys" on the wall. The kids got extra point for hitting Lotso, Pete the Prospector, or the Emperor Zurg.

3. Moon Rock Hunt: We told the kids moon rocks had fallen from the sky and landed in our back yard. We gave each kid a plastic bag and asked for their help in cleaning them up. Once they found all the rocks they were told the rocks were very special and they should unwrap them to see what was inside. (The moon rocks were made from balled up foil and each one had a special trinket inside.)

4. Find Woody: We told the kids Al had stolen Woody and they needed to find him and bring him back home. We hid a Woody Doll outside for the kids to find.

5. Crazy Mr. Potato Head: We set out two Mr. Potato Head toys and an equal number of body parts for each head. Two at a time, the kids were blindfolded and got 30 seconds to try to put him back together.

6. To Infinity and Beyond: The kids got to launch toy story characters into space. I printed 6 pictures of Toy Story characters and taped them onto Fuji film canisters. The kids went up 3 at a time and picked their character. The canisters were filled with 2 tsp of water. Each kid was given 1/2 an Alka Seltzer tablet and was told it was the rocket fuel. They tossed the rocket fuel into the canister and an ADULT put the cap on the canister and everyone moved back. The kids went wild chanting for which character would shoot into space first. (The water/tablet combo would build pressure and eventually pop the top off and go a good 15 feet into the air). This was a favorite for all the kids.

7. Buzz Pinata: No party can be complete without a candy filled pinata to bust.

We finished the party with Cake and presents. Our cake was ordered from a local grocery store. I'm not sure what happened...It's not exactly like the picture at the store. Poor Woody looks like he has a case of the Hershey squirts leading up to the toilet he's sitting on...It borders on needing to be on the Cake Wrecks blog!

It was a fun party and Wacky Zacky is still talking about it.

Pop! Pop! Pow!

2011-01-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing you have been partying all day today. Can you believe it's FINALLY here? This has been a much anticipated holiday! I have been preparing for this day since New Years! Decorating, making special treats, planning, etc...You do know what today is don't you? What? You don't know? Are you kidding me? You don't know that today is National Popcorn day? Where have you been? It's the second most popular holiday of the year! Well...Maybe I don't have all my facts straight...

To honor such a noble and wonderful holiday we had a Popcorn party and invited our Mommy group to come over and celebrate.

To help you celebrate this "corny" holiday, I will share with you my super secret special popcorn recipe!

Super Special S'more Popcorn

Ingredients:

Popcorn

Hot cocoa cocoa mix

Mini Marshmallows

Golden Grahams

Chocolate Chips

Directions: Pop the popcorn. Mix all ingredients and enjoy! (Make sure you let the popcorn cool before you add the chocolate chips or you will have a hot mess on your hands!)

Zany thought of the day: So if National Popcorn Day is in January, when do we celebrate National Popcorn Month?

Answer: October...Go figure!

Silly Jilly's birthday bash!

2011-01-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Silly Jilly had a super silly whimsical party to celebrate her one year birthday! We invited close friends and family over to celebrate the occasion.

We had 12 kids under the age of 6 to try to entertain at the party. Papa Z and I had a good time making up games for the kids to play. All the games pertained to Silly Jilly's life. They included:

1. An obstacle course. Silly Jilly goes through an obstacle course on a daily basis. We made a course for the kids to CRAWL not WALK through which included some of Silly Jilly's favorite items: a tunnel, paper, the dog's water bowl, crawling under a table, a DVD case, and a TV remote control.

2. Learning to stand. Silly Jilly had taken her first wobbly steps when she was 11 months old. The kids had to stand on a wobbly balance board and try not to tip the board.

3. Where's Baby's Binky? Papa Z and I spend and abnormal amount of time trying to track down lost Binkies (aka: pacifier). We decided to sit back and let someone else find the Binky! We hid ring pops and the kids got to do their own search for a Binky.

4. Look what Silly Jilly made! We took diapers and melted candy bars in them making it look like a pooh filled diaper. The kids got to guess what type of candy bar was in each diaper. Despite the gross factor of this game, I think it may have been the fan favorite.

After completing all the games each guest was given a Boo Boo Bag (hot/cold pad) because we all know - big or small - kids get hurt 100 times a day!

We finished the party with cake and presents. Silly Jilly had never eaten cake before and was not quite sure what to think of it.

I know Silly Jilly won't remember her first birthday party, but nevertheless it was fun to celebrate it with friends and family.

Monster cakes!

2011-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wacky Zacky wanted to take cupcakes into his PreK class to celebrate his birthday. We decided instead of "normal" cupcakes, we would make each classmate a unique Monster cupcake. We used marshmallows, twizzlers, M&Ms, and jelly life savers to make the monster faces. Wacky Zacky had a fun time creating each silly face and they were a big hit with his class.

Run! Run! As fast as you can! You can't catch me-CHOMP!

2011-01-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

This Zany tall tale starts back in 2010! I know, such a long time ago! Actually it was only a few weeks ago, it's just something that's too good not to share.

The Zany family has started a tradition of making Gingerbread houses around Christmas time. Last year Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie did a good job of sharing the Gingerbread house, but with them being a year older (3 1/2 and 4) and fighting like cats and dogs most of the time, we thought we'd be smart and get a Gingerbread Mini Village Kit so they could have their own house to decorate.

The night before we were going to make the house I pulled out the directions to scan them, just to make sure it was similar to the one I've done in the past. I put the directions back in the box and noticed a few minutes later Zany Janie carrying them around the house. I asked her to put them back in the box for the next day.

The following day I started to get all the parts out of the box and wouldn't you know the directions were no where to be seen! We searched the house and came up with nothing. Zany Janie still promises she put them back in the box and it was someone else that lost them...Hmmm....

Papa Z decided to check the computer for directions, but unfortunately didn't find anything but a bunch of negative reviews on Wilton's Gingerbread Mini Village. They basically complained that the houses were impossible to put together, the icing wouldn't hold the parts in place, and the houses were too tiny to work with. Not the news I was hoping to hear as I looked at the 50+ pieces laying in front of me with no directions to guide me. I did what any crazy mom would do to avoid having to go back out into the Christmas shopping madness to buy a new kit-I started putting the little pieces together like a puzzle. All I can say is thank goodness my Dad is an engineer, I have somehow inherited a small portion of his analytical thinking and was easily able to put those little shacks together.

Once the houses were ready we each picked one and began the fun but serious business of decorating them.

Wacky Zacky even decided to decorate himself!

Once they were finished we felt a sense of accomplishment. Each one was special and unique in it's own way.

Papa Z, who is typically not so artsy, got into the spirit and really got crafty using green sprinkles as grass around his house-(For those of you who are puzzled, he grew up in California and has never had a white Christmas).

I don't want to toot my own horn, but I think I should have won the prize for the best house!

The whole family had so much fun decorating the houses and we proudly displayed our village on the table for all to see and adore.

The following day there was a tragic mishap...Papa Z went upstairs to get something and when he returned five minutes later the gingerbread village was gone! Avalanche? No. Tsunami? No. Kids? No. Big black dog with a full belly? Ding Ding you are right! Scoozoo had devoured our whole village in five minutes flat. He had even licked the bases clean!

I guess the old saying isn't true-Run! Run! As fast as you can! You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread man!

Silly Jilly is 365 days old!

2011-01-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

Today Silly Jilly is exactly 365 days old. She made her grand entrance into our lives with an emergency C-section and has continuously kept us on our toes since then. After having her I knew she would be my last Zany baby and I have made sure to cherish every change and development she has undertaken over the past year. Being the third sibling one might think she would get lost in the shuffle. The opposite has occurred, she has shown such a strong personality at a young age and demands to be heard. She has quite the little temper and is not shy about letting you know if something has upset her. She has also quickly learned how to turn on the charm to get her way. She is so precious and I can’t help but smile when I hear her giggle and see her little snaggletooth smile. I cannot wait to see what this following year brings for her! Happy Birthday my little snaggletooth princess! I love you!

Wacky Zacky turns the BIG F-I-V-E!

2010-12-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

I am in absolute disbelief! Today my precious Wacky Zacky turns 5! As cliché as it sounds, it certainly seems like just yesterday I carried you out of the hospital, terrified because I was responsible for your tiny screaming little life. I have been blessed to be there for every first you have had in your life-first words, first foods, first steps, first haircut, first experiences in the world, etc...It has been amazing to see you change from a tiny infant, into a giggly baby, to a drunken walking toddler, and now into a handsome active preschooler. You are such a wonderful little guy. I love that you are sensitive and have a passion for the arts-dancing, singing, coloring, and making crafts. Today as I look back through all the pictures of you, I feel a mixture of happiness and sadness. I am sad by how quickly your baby phase passed and now you would rather do things by yourself rather than have Mommy help you. I am happy by the type of little boy you have turned into. You are a great big brother to your two little sisters and you are a wonderful son! I also had to giggle at all the pictures of your wild mane of hair. Mommy and Daddy now ask ourselves what we were thinking when we see the crazy locks you use to sport, but at the time it was too hard for us to cut your curls. I hope you have a very Happy Birthday! And I love you one hundred trillion, million, billion plus one!

Naughty or Nice?

2010-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Guess what time it is? Time to see Santa! For most kids seeing Santa is much better in theory than in real life. Our kids believe Santa pinched them when they were babies so they've been a little leery of him over the past few years (See full story here!).

Last year Zany Janie hopped right onto Santa's lap and had a nice chat with him, while Wacky Zacky refused to even take a picture with him without me being between the two. This year both Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie seemed giddy to see Santa. That is until the day before when a tragic event happened. To make a long story short, we use a bead system with the kids. They can earn and lose beads based on behavior. If they lose all their beads they lose dessert for a week-I know harsh huh? Well, the day before Zany Janie was to see Santa she had a streak of naughtiness and lost all her beads. I'll spare you the details, but will tell you the final bead was lost because she dumped a bottle of water on Wacky Zacky's head while he was asleep in his bed.

So Wacky Zacky warned Zany Janie that Santa Elf (AKA: The Elf on the Shelf) was going to tell Santa all about how she was naughty. I'm guessing this had a lot to do with why the very next day our typically outgoing Zany Janie was sheepish to even approach Santa. She walked up to him with her head down and her hand on her mouth. I'm guessing she was expecting him to tell her the bad news-She may be getting coal for Christmas!

Wacky Zacky on the other hand walked right up to Santa, gave him a high five, and began telling him his list for Christmas.

Poor baby Silly Jilly did not have a nice meeting with Santa. She took one look at him and began screaming. I could kick myself for not having my camera on burst mode where I can take several action pictures in a quick succession, because if the kids are right I may have been able to catch Santa pinching her!

I guess we'll never know!

Zany thought of the day: So what do you think-Is Santa Naughty or Nice?

A message for the Tooth Fairy

2010-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

About a month ago Wacky Zacky lost his first tooth. Well, I should actually say he ate his first loose tooth. Since he was the oldest of our children we were not sure what to expect from the tooth fairy. Papa Z and I had not had visits from the tooth fairy since the early 1980's and we were guessing things may have changed a little since the "old days". Since Wacky Zacky ate his tooth he decided to leave a note for the tooth fairy. You can see how that went here! As expected the tooth fairy came in the middle of the night and left money in Wacky Zacky's tooth fairy pillow. What was not expected was the trail the tooth fairy left in her wake...Nearly every square inch of Wacky Zacky's room was covered in fairy dust. I'm not kidding! There was an obvious trail leading from the window to his tooth fairy pillow. Then from the pillow the fairy dust was just all over the place. She really left her mark! A few days later Wacky Zacky lost his second tooth and the tooth fairy's presence was known the minute I woke up and found fairy dust all over the house! Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate her visits! I'm sure she is doing all this work for free, but if anyone has contact with the tooth fairy-whether it be through email, facebook, twitter, etc...could you please tell her to lay off the fairy dust? It's a month later and I'm still finding it everywhere!

Fun and Funky ornaments

2010-12-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

This year marks the second year of a handmade ornament exchange I am involved in. This year I decided to make felt ornaments. They ended up being really easy to make and I think they came out super cute. You too can easily make these ornaments! To download a free pattern go to Fantastic Toys.

Zany thought of the day: When it comes to Christmas decorations would you say you tend to be more traditional, sticking to red and green, or do you take a ride on the wild side and incorporate some funky colors into the mix?

If you’ve got it, flaunt it!

2010-12-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

Not unlike many of you, I have been under a great deal of stress lately. I know, I know, you wonder how on earth can a stay-at-home mom be under stress while eating Bonbons and watching TV all day…Yes, that’s me leading the life of luxury except my 10 month old is known to make a distraction, so my 4-year-old can eat all my Bonbons when I turned my head briefly, and my 3-year-old can change the TV channel to Yo Gabba Gabba then hide the remote.

I will spare you the list of my stressors, but will tell you it is enough to cause me to have a minor little blemish on my forehead. Well, maybe blemish isn’t really the right word, maybe I should use the word tiny little pimple right in the middle of my forehead. Hmmm…Maybe we should really say I had a good size zit front and center waving at every passerby-yeah, that’s more like it. I’m not one to freak out about it, I’m more of the type of person to not acknowledge it and hope no one else notices what at first glance looks like a third eye.

So I go through my day without anyone obviously staring at it and I even forget it’s there. That is until at night when Papa Z and I are putting the kids to bed and sweet inquisitive little Wacky Zacky innocently asks, “Why does Mommy have a little booby on her forehead?” No wonder everyone avoided eye contact with me, I spent the whole day flaunting a forehead booby! I’m wondering if I need to at least wear a pasty tomorrow so I don’t get arrested for indecent exposure?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and your turkey is cooked to perfection!

Monsterlicious Fun!

2010-11-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

My online baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras, has had some super zany monsterliciously fun items added to it!

Including:

Zarkle Monster Blankies/Lovies

Zarkle Burp Cloths/Lovies

ZANY MUCUS WIPES for runny noses or drooly pools of goo

PANDA LOVE - Zany Reversible Bib

SHROOMS MY DEER - Zany Reversible Bib

SANTA - Long or short sleeve zany baby suit or toddler t shirt

GOBBLE GOBBLE - Zany Reversible Bib

In case you got confused from all the Christmas items stocked in the stores for the past TWO months, it is NUTTY NOVEMBER! The month where we all Gobble till we Wobble! To celebrate Thanksgiving I am offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders in the US (International shipping fees will be reduced 50%!) to my loyal Blog readers! This NUTTY discount will expire on 11/30/10. To redeem this discount please put "GOBBLE TILL YOU WOBBLE" in the "Notes to Seller" section and discount will be refunded via Paypal after transaction is completed.

Threat of a headless turkey!

2010-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

The weather was finally cooler and I was feeling festive so I thought I would bring out the construction paper, google eyes, and pom pom balls and figure out something for the kids to make.

The end product turned out to be self sculptures, I mean turkeys.

I'm not sure what happened, but once the craft was made Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie turned into wild turkeys. As you can see in the picture below there is a little dash of wildness in their eyes.

Seconds after this picture was snapped, they took their turkeys and made them fly around the house shrieking "Gobble! Gobble!" at the top of their lungs. Despite informing them turkeys could not fly, they continued to take flight insisting theirs had special powers-lucky me! It was shortly after I threatened to decapitate the next turkey that flew into my face that the chaos finally quieted down.

Zany thought of the day: Did you know every year the President pardons a turkey? On Wednesday, November 25, 2009, President Obama gave a turkey named Courage a last-minute reprieve. That lucky Gobbler now resides at Disneyland, CA.

Tooth Fairy, it's all yours...

2010-11-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

Wacky Zacky has had his first loose tooth for a couple of months now. Day after day we anxiously waited for it to fall out, but the stubborn little tooth just stayed put. After several jokes made by friends and family about tying a string to his tooth, Wacky Zacky was becoming reluctant to even open his mouth to let anyone check on the progress of his tooth. Finally after weeks of waiting it decided to come out at a very inopportune time.

Wacky Zacky was eating a banana when Papa Z looked over and noticed a giant gap in his teeth. Upon closer inspection it was found Wacky Zacky's tooth had fallen out.

Papa Z asked if his tooth was loose somewhere in his mouth and Wacky Zacky innocently shook his head no. Somehow his tooth had broken free and Wacky Zacky swallowed it with a mouthful of banana. Wacky Zacky is no stranger to swallowing non-food items (See "The fifty dollar quarter") However, I think we will pass on attempting to retrieve this one!

So now the little man is faced with a real dilemma. How will the Tooth Fairy know he had lost a tooth if it's not tucked inside his super cool Tooth Fairy Pillow? (Made by Fang Dangles)

Since none of us are willing to go on a treasure hunt to retrieve the lost tooth, we decided we would try leaving a note for the Tooth Fairy explaining what had happened.

If that's not good enough and the Tooth Fairy needs the actual tooth, then I guess we can lead her in the right direction of the missing tooth and leave a pair of latex gloves!

M E O W

2010-11-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

As we were leaving Disneyland Wacky Zacky turns around, looks me square in the eye and says, "Mommy, you're a pussy!" Positive I didn't just hear my 4-year-old son call me a pussy, I ask, "What did you say?" He says again, "Mommy, you're a pussy!" Okay, I just heard the same thing again. There's no way that's what he said! Unless...

Let me go back a couple of hours in our day. We had met some friends at Disneyland and they talked me into going on the roller coaster at California Adventure. The past few years I have always had the excuse I was pregnant and couldn't ride it or I didn't want to ride it by myself while Papa Z waited with the kids. So now I had run out of excuses and there was an opportunity for me to go on it. I reluctantly got in line with my friend and rode it.

So back to my original story...I started thinking maybe Papa Z and his friend had thrown out a few words about me being scared to ride the roller coaster without knowing Wacky Zacky was within earshot. For those of you who have kids you know you can ask them something 100 times and they won't hear you, but you slip and say a curse word and they can her it a mile away!

So just to make 100% sure he was saying what I thought he was saying, I asked him to repeat it a third time. Wacky Zacky says, "I SAID MOMMY'S A PUSSY!" Okay, I'm absolutely sure that's what he said, so I tell him to tell Papa Z because at this point I'm certain I know where he's picked up this little gem of a word and thought Papa Z should have to deal with it.

So Papa Z asks him and he repeats it a fourth time. Papa Z starts asking him where he heard such a word and how it's a bad word. I'm strolling along thinking, "First of all, I'm not a pussy because I rode the roller coaster little man! And second Papa Z is in so much trouble because we all know where he heard the word!"

I was a little taken aback when he tells us he learned the word from the cartoon "Tom and Jerry" and he was just calling me a pussy cat. Of course! That's what I was thinking all along...

Would you like your Spaghetti with or without seeds?

2010-10-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, we finally carved a couple of our pumpkins. This was Silly Jilly's first taste of the Halloween tradition and she seemed very excited! From the start it seemed she was going to take a hands on approach, unlike her brother, Wacky Zacky, who last year could barely muster enough courage to touch the pumpkin guts! (See here!)

Not to be out done by his two little sisters, Wacky Zacky made sure to be the first one to touch the squishy pumpkin innards this year.

Silly Jilly was a close second and found she could not keep her hands out of it.

Zany Janie did not miss out on the action. This little girl has no fear and was bravely cleaning out the pumpkin on her own, while exclaiming how the pumpkin smelled like Spaghetti. Spaghetti? Really? I must admit, I didn't get it...Maybe my sense of smell is deteriorating as I age.

Silly Jilly must have been on the same wavelength as Zany Janie because she began gobbling up the pumpkin guts as fast as her little hands could move.

By the end we had to pry her little hands off the bowl and take it away so she wouldn't make herself sick!

The kids picked out the design for the pumpkins and Papa Z and I got to carve them while those little turkeys watched a Halloween special on TV! Not to toot my own horn, but I think these are the best pumpkins we've ever carved!

Happy Halloween!

How do you pick a peck of pumpkins?

2010-10-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

So the Zany family made our yearly trip to the Pumpkin Patch and had a great time. Everyone left happy-Papa Z and I got pictures of the kids in a pumpkin patch, the older kids got to bungee jump and go down huge slides, and Silly Jilly got to be pushed around in a stroller so she could watch all the mayhem unfold around her. As usual we left without any pumpkins. What!?! I know, it seems shocking and bordering on a crime especially when we have three little ones, but to be honest we can't afford to pay $15 and up per pumpkin-and they don't even come carved!

So we have a little secret that I'm willing to share with you, but you can't tell anyone! We have a secret place where you can get:

Yep, no need to pay $15 for a teeny tiny pumpkin. You can get good size ones for $2.99. Can you guess where?

The one and only:

You can also get cute pictures of your kids there too:

So the Zany family scored nine pumpkins of various sizes for under $16!

Thanks Trader Joe's!

Zany thought of the day: What's one of your secrets to saving money during the holidays?

I Spy....

2010-10-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

I spy with my two little eyes something that looks CREEPY!

Can you guess what they are? If you said edible eyeballs you would be correct! These scrumptious little treats are easy to make and are sure to be a hit of any party!

CREEPY EYEBALLS

Ingredients:
3.4-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
Chocolate covered raisins (Or Black Jelly Beans)
Gummy Lifesavers
Easter Egg Jello molds (or plastic eggs would work too)

Directions:
Prepare the pudding according to the package directions. For each eye, fit a chocolate covered raisin or jelly bean into the center of a Gummy Lifesaver candy and place it in a plastic egg half. Fill the egg cup with the pudding (If you are using plastic eggs and not a Jello mold, then place the egg halves in an egg carton). Place in freezer until they're firm (about 3 hours). Remove the egg halves from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for about 3 to 5 minutes. Using the back of a fork or spoon, gently press down on the edge of the pudding, rolling the frozen ball out of the egg cup. If you're not serving them right away, place the eyes in a freezer-safe dish in the freezer until you're ready.

Zany thought of the day: These treats remind me of Pudding Pops. I sure did like Pudding Pops when I was a kid! I'm not sure what I liked more-saying Pudding Pop or eating them. Either way it sure put a smile on my face!

The Tattle Monkey

2010-10-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

We started having some serious problems in our house with tattling. I've been hearing a play-by-play of every minute detail of hundreds of trivial issues going on between Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky throughout the day. I've listened to how Wacky Zacky was "thinking" of growling at Zany Janie-yes, you read correctly-THINKING-to Zany Janie playing with one of Wacky Zacky's toys that he had not touched in several months. Don't get me wrong, not all the stories were trivial, there were some valid ones such as Zany Janie is climbing up the bookcase or Silly Jilly has a piece of dog food in her hand and is about to eat it. It was getting to the point that every sentence out of their mouth was geared towards tattling and was told in an extra whiny voice.

After realizing it was next to impossible to have a visit from The Supernanny, because besides having a pair of tattle tails my kids are next to perfect and don't have any other issues which would warrant a visit from her, I did the next best thing and invited the Tattle Monkey into our lives:

Since moving in the tattling has decreased dramatically! We had a long conversation with the kids about tattling and how they need to learn how to work things out for themselves. We told them they can come to us to tattle if it's going to keep someone out of danger, but otherwise they need to work it out themselves. If they find they still feel the urge to tattle they can go tell the Tattle Monkey. This tattle monkey is amazing! She can hear 50 times in a row about how Wacky Zacky is looking at Zany Janie and still seem to keep a smile on her face. The kids are happy to have her so they can tell her every feeling of being slighted and Mama is happy not to be overwhelmed with tattling! It's a Win-Win situation!

Now excuse me while I go see the tattle monkey. I just remembered something I forgot to tell her...

The final chapter of our Zany Vacation

2010-10-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Despite our vacation being over two months ago, I didn't want to leave you hanging on the zany saga. So why have I waited two whole months to write the ending? Could it be because it's too painful to write the last chapter which would signify that it really is over and we are back to reality? I don't think so...It's more like I have three zany kids that keep me busy at all hours and I am just trying to keep afloat. This is actually the first chance I have gotten to write a post. All three monsters, I mean darling children, are asleep snug in their beds. I must admit, I'm not accustom to the silence because it is piercing my ears!

So where did we leave off? Oh yes, we had spent our final day at "See Attle" on our "cation" and decided to take the most direct route home and head due North then West to the Olympic National Park. After looking at maps it quickly became obvious that there was no direct route to this national park. We had to drive through Seattle, take a ferry, stand on our head, and wink while crossing both eyes to get there. Papa Z handed over all responsibility of getting us there to myself and that smooth talker, Javier (AKA Our GPS). I had to continue to reassure Papa Z we were not going to "accidentally" drive to the border and end up in Canada. If truth be told, I was not sure if this would happen, but I pretended to know exactly what we were doing and where we were headed.

After a very long drive we finally made it to the Olympic National Park and drove to Hurricane Ridge. Of course once on top of this breathtaking mountain, Wacky Zacky did not want to get out of the car. He kept complaining, "Why do we always have to get out and look at everything?" as he stomped along behind us. Lucky for him we were short on time so we didn't get to look at "everything", but we did look here:

And here:

The little sourpuss got over it quickly when he got to eat a treat while taking in all the beauty.

It did get exciting for a few minutes when Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky came face-to-face with a bear!

Since we were pressed for time we all got back in the car and continued driving around the peninsula. It just so happened that the path around the peninsula took us smack dab into Forks, WA! If Forks, WA doesn't ring a bell to you, then you must not be a Twilight fan. Papa Z begrudgingly stopped to take a picture at the "Welcome to Forks" sign and wouldn't you know, Mr. Sourpuss Wacky Zacky was actually excited to get out of the car and wanted to be in the picture too, despite not knowing a single thing about Twilight.

Lucky for Papa Z, I am not a big enough fan to want to pay over $100 for a tour of the Sheriff's Station and a glimpse of Bella's house. As we drove through the town, we noticed all the hotels had no vacancy signs. That would make sense since they all touted having "Twilight Rooms"...Which I'm not sure what that would mean-are the rooms freezing cold with a musty dog smell in them?

Our next stop was the Hoh Rain Forest. We hiked on the famous Moss Trail. It was amazing to see all enormous trees and ground cover. Everything was so green.

I'd like to say the Zany family hiked the one mile trail without incident, but that would be a lie. The kids decided to play superhero in the rain forest and were running up and down the trail when Zany Janie's little foot caught on a root and she took a tumble resulting in a small cut on the palm of her hand. You would have thought she had broken her arm from the shrieks and high pitched scream coming from her. For the rest of the hike she cried and shrieked making the rain forest oh so enjoyable for anyone and anything within a 1/2 mile radius from us. She did calm down once we were back in the car and she was given a Twilight Band aid to cover her battle wound.

The rest of the day was a little nerve wracking with a very long drive to Vancouver, WA where we had a hotel room booked and waiting for us. We had to deal with a bridge being out, a poorly marked detour, Silly Jilly screaming and crying, a huge building on fire causing more detours, smoke blocking our view, an entrance ramp to the I-5 being closed and another detour 6.5 miles the wrong way before finally getting to our hotel.

The last two days were fairly uneventful as we made our way home. The kids were good for being in the car a couple of long days. The final day they were feeling loving and colored several pictures for Papa Z, myself, and even for each other. We all breathed a sigh of relief as we pulled into our driveway, happy to be home. The good feelings of being home continued as we unpacked the car, but quickly diminished when we noticed Wacky Zacky's artwork in the back of the car:

I guess he had not been feeling all that loving since he scribbled in crayon all over the upholstery of the car! New rule for the car: NO CRAYONS!

Frightfully fun!

2010-09-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

It's almost October and the ghosts and goblins will soon be scurrying about! To help ward off those scary creatures, you might want to check out the spooky Frankenstein shirt from my baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras.

You may also need Wanda the Witch, Dracula, or Frankenstein to help guard all of your Halloween loot. With them on your trick-or-treat bag no one will dare attempt to steal your candy!

Fast Friends

2010-09-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Silly Jilly and Scoozoo have quickly become fast friends. They have recently found they both can offer each other something. Silly Jilly is finally eating baby food and is becoming messier and messier, which Scoozoo knows from being around Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky this will eventually lead to lots of food dropping to the ground for him to eat.

Silly Jilly has a serious love for water. Much to my dismay, she has recently discovered Scoozoo's water bowl. With her recent mobility, I find her splashing in Scoozoo's water bowl on a regular basis.

There's nothing like food and water to bond a dog and baby for life!

Back to School

2010-09-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year! It's back to school time. The time when you have a full box of crayons and they actually have sharp points! The time when you are both excited and anxious about what the school year will hold for you! Wacky Zacky was super excited to start Junior Kindergarten. This year was not as emotional for me as last year when I dropped him off at school for the first time. I didn't have that sensation of my throat tightening and tears beginning to overflow from my eyes. I'd like to say I've toughened up, but that would be a lie. If truth be told, I began feeling teary-eyed as I drove away and thought, "Oh my gosh, in 365 days my baby will be in Kindergarten!" I'm trying to enjoy every second of this year because I know it will fly by in a heart beat.

Next stop: Let's go see Addle

2010-09-11T17:18:00.000-07:00

We finally made it! After days of driving and enough drama to last me a year (lifetime to some, a year for the Zany family) the Seattle skyline finally peeked into view! I thought we were all excited about it until the kids started asking in a disappointed voice, "Where is Addle?" "I thought we were going to go see Addle?" "Where is she?". Apparently the kids thought our whole vacation was based on going to visit some woman named Addle. Poor things had to go for second best and enjoy all that Seattle had to offer them.

Some good friends were very generous and allowed our crazy family to stay with them. I'm not sure they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into until we came crashing through their door. They were the best hosts and had our days in Seattle planned with all the must see places. Here's a few of our adventures:

We went to the Space Needle.

We actually had lunch on top of the Space Needle! The restaurant spins 360 degrees and is 500 feet in the air. Some may not know, but I get a bit queasy with heights. It was probably good it only took us 41 seconds in the elevator to get to the top, because I didn't have much time to really think about what was going on as my body was shot into the air. Once at the top I was both excited to see the view and anxious because the slight spinning was beginning to make me feel dizzy. I started to think, "This is going to be a very bad scene in a few short minutes", but I finally found my "space legs" and thank goodness the nausea eventually passed. The food was a bit pricey, but good. Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie got pasta dishes and the pasta was in the shape of the Space Needle...Very clever! The best part of the whole experience was dessert! (Isn't that always the best part?)

The kids went crazy for the ice cream on dry ice. It was amazing to see after an inability to feed themselves pasta on their own, they all of a sudden gained the ability to feed themselves ice cream!

It must be a miracle! It's funny how that works!

After lunch we went to the observation deck and took in the beauty of Seattle.

I'm sure you will be shocked, but we were in a group with 5 kids under the age of 5 and four adults and it was a drama free experience! How often can I say that?

We went to the Science Museum.

The Science Museum in Seattle was a big hit for the kids. They could run around yelling and pawing everything without getting into too much trouble. I was not surprised to find Zany Janie fascinated with the toilet flushing exhibit. That one is right up her alley!

We went to Pike Place Market.

The market was packed with people and Wacky Zacky insisted on being pushed in a stroller, so you can imagine how fun it was to swerve around all the hustle and bustle. It was really neat to see all the vendors. There was an array of handmade items to beautiful vibrant flowers. We got to see the staff at Pike Place Fish Market perform. We also had the best food located somewhere in a side alley. I got the scallop chowder and crab salad on a roll and Papa Z got clam chowder in a bread bowl. It was so yummy! We also ventured down to the pier and walked around taking in a band and all the beautiful scenery.

We took a ferry to Bainbridge Island.

None of us had been on a ferry before so it was fun to drive onto the boat and take a ride to the island. It was so windy on the ferry that it was a good thing Silly Jilly was tethered to Papa Z or she would have blown overboard! I was glad the bars around the boat were high enough so the kids could not lean over them. If they had been a bit lower we could have made the news.

We went to the Locks in Ballard, WA.

I must admit on our way to the Locks I was a little anxious about the possibility of potentially seeing the Time Bandit or even another boat from one of my favorite TV shows Deadliest Catch. Unfortunately I didn't catch a glimpse of one of the crab boats, but it was interesting seeing other boats pass through the Locks. The kids loved seeing the fish swimming up stream and playing on the steps leading down to the water. I think I got a few gray hairs as Wacky Zacky ran up and down the steps coming ever so close to tripping and falling right into the freezing cold water.

The most exciting part of the day was eating at:

The Lockspot Cafe! Not because they claim to have world famous Fish and Chips, but because it is the location for "After the Catch".

I must admit I felt a little embarrassed snapping picture after picture of things inside the bar/cafe, but what was I to do? If I wasn't nursing Silly Jilly I may have even ordered a "Duck Fart" in honor of Captain Phil! I will give them props, their Fish and Chips were really good! The only thing that would have made the day even better would be if Captain Johnathan had sauntered in through the doors giving his crazy laugh that always makes me smile.

While in the Seattle area we also made a quick stop to visit some family friends. They made breakfast and we got to sit around and chat. By the end of our visit the kids were throwing pretend birthday parties with gifts and pinatas and at one point they were shouting bits and pieces of church songs from the balcony for all of Seattle to enjoy.

After our rocky start to our vacation, I was so happy we all had a great time in Seattle and to my knowledge our kids didn't break or destroy anything when we were there!

Stay tuned for the final leg of our trip! Can we make it back to sunny Southern California without anymore mishaps?

The zany-cation continues!

2010-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

So day four arrives and it just so happens to be Papa Z and my 8-year-anniversary! It also just so happens to be the day Silly Jilly's eye flairs up again. So we spent the morning dealing with getting Silly Jilly medicine. I will spare you the details, but will share that we ended up self-paying $4.00 at Walmart for the exact same prescription we've paid a $10.00 co-pay for in the past!

Next we headed to Redding, CA...A very popular must see stop for anyone in the near vicinity of Northern California! Well, maybe not for all, but at least it's a destination for my family. It's the place where Papa Z was born and raised. We met up with a few friends and Papa Z got to reminisce while driving through his old stomping grounds.

The next few days were filled with lots of driving. Which reminds me of our old friend Javier. Javier came into our lives only a few weeks prior to our vacation. We took him along with us, which turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. Our dear friend Javier is a smooth talker with his British-American accent and his sexy way of saying "Recalculating!". Javier is our GPS navigation system, which helped Papa Z and me remain happily married on this vacation. He helped lead us to food, gas, and sometimes attractions that were better off left alone. So how could this little life saver possibly be a curse too? Well, he had an uncanny ability to "lose satellite reception" at the absolute worst possible time. It was hard to stay mad at him for long because when he finally found satellite reception he would always direct us to take such-and-such Boulevard, which always got a smirk from us since he could not say Boulevard without sounding like he was passing gas.

To help pass the time we played several games. A popular one was "I spy with my two little eyes..." This was a fun one on our drive through Oregon where turn after turn the kids would spy a TREE! Who could blame them when this is what they had to work with:

Another popular way to pass the time was "Dirty Talk" time. Believe me, it's not what you think! It was a special 60 seconds where the kids could say all the dirty words they knew. They had fun throwing out, "Poop, pee, vomit, mud poop, etc..."-you get the picture.

The final game took on a competitive spirit-Girls vs. Boys in the cow count.

At the end of the day whoever had the most cows on their side of the road won. Not to brag, but the girls got to say, "Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!" more times than the boys, but is that really surprising?

After several days and lots of drama we finally made it to Seattle, WA! Check back later to hear all about how we took on the Space Needle!

Day three: The adventure continues!

2010-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

So here we are the start of our third day and there doesn't appear to be any tar or upset stomachs in sight! However, we are all still sporting an attractive brown stain on the soles of our feet. So everything seems to be fine until Papa Z goes to move my cell phone and is nearly scalded by it! We are uncertain exactly what happened, but we believe a fuse blew in the middle of the night causing an issue with my charging cell phone. My phone was completely fried and I later found out I could not retrieve any of the information, including all of my contacts! On a positive note, Silly Jilly woke up and her eye seemed to be back to normal! Yay!

So we got our things together which is no easy task. As you can imagine a family of 5 needs a lot of things to keep them going. And to top things off we have an infant which requires several extra items (i.e. crib, diaper bag, car seat, stroller, Bumbo-used as a highchair). Since hotels have that little rule of never leaving your kids in the room by themselves, Papa Z had the fun task of loading and unloading the car everyday while I stayed with the kids in the hotel room and played who could jump the highest on the bed. This is a small glimpse of just ONE of the loads Papa Z got to deal with on a daily basis:

So this day we began our journey to Monterey, CA. Once in the car Zany Janie began complaining of a stomach ache. This kept us on pins and needles wondering when and if an explosion of vomit would take place.

Once we arrived to Monterey we went to the Monterey Bay Aquairum:

We had to wait in line to go inside. While waiting, a random woman came up to the line and said she had a free ticket if someone needed one. Of course everyone in line shouted that they needed one, but for some reason she approached us and handed the ticket over. Tickets were $30 and we very much appreciated her generosity. I often wonder why she choose us, was it because we looked like we had been through the ringer?

We all had a great time at the aquarium. They had lots of wonderful hands on exhibits for the kids.

Even Silly Jilly had a great time!

We almost escaped our visit without any public humiliation, until Zany Janie became angry at us for making her leave the starfish exhibit before she was ready. After many failed attempts at trying to teach Zany Janie to only touch the starfish with two fingers, we decided to leave the area to prevent any harm to the animals. As I attempted to lead her away from the water I felt a hard tug on my hand and realized Zany Janie had just broke free. Before I could even blink an eye she quickly snatched a starfish out of the water and threw it back as hard as she could splashing everyone in the near vicinity, then turned and walked away. I did what any parent would do...I quickly turned and walked away horrified, pretending I hadn't notice what had just occurred.

Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie will tell you hands down the best part about the aquarium was the hammer head shark. They also liked watching the feeding of the rainbow trout. Zany Janie was paying more attention than I thought to the educational speech because she now believes she is just like a rainbow trout and will change into a male when she grows up. She becomes angry when you try to tell her otherwise.

We finished the day with a drive to Sacramento, CA to stay with friends. They welcomed us with open arms and a BBQ. Papa Z got to see several of his High School buddies and our kids got to run around with kids their age. It was a fun and relaxing time.

Is it possible that this is just day three of our trip? Stay tuned to hear the next zany chapter!

Day two: The zany saga continues!

2010-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

In my last post I left you in our hotel room with minty fresh feet. So I shall pick up from there and start day two of our adventures from our hotel room. The kids were semi-quietly sitting/standing/jumping on the bed as Papa Z and I scurried around the room to get ready for the day. We were both packing up our things in the bathroom when Zany Janie began screaming. We both assumed Wacky Zacky had hit or jumped on her for the 100th time that morning and ran out to see what damage had been done. From the sounds of the screams coming from her little mouth one would expect to see blood, but we were greeted with much much worse! Zany Janie was sitting on the hotel bed covered in vomit! This was very unexpected because she had been playing around all morning and had not complained of even the slightest tummy ache. We, meaning Papa Z with me slinking as far away as I could get from the foul smell, cleaned up the mess the best we could and got the heck out of the room! So now we have become "that room"! The room the house keepers talk about in their list of worst rooms they ever had to clean! With tar foot prints, a dirty but minty fresh smelling sink, tar streaked white towels, vomit covered sheets and smashed goldfish crackers in the carpet there's a chance we may have even made it to the top of their list.

So off we went as quickly as we could-puke bucket in hand. Yes, we remembered to bring a puke bucket for the car-it's an absolute necessity for our family. The next 50 miles were filled with Zany Janie "accidentally" throwing the puck buck then whining that she needed it immediately causing me to nearly dislocate my shoulder as I quickly grabbed it for her. I will let you know, thankfully the puke bucket was never used, but there were some tense moments during our trip when both Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky claimed they needed it.

Our next stop was Morro Bay, CA. We weren't really sure what to expect or where to go, but it was something along our route that a few people told us we should check out. We found a really neat park which overlooked Morro Rock and decided to stop to let the kids get their wiggles out. Just when the car stopped Wacky Zacky giggled and said, "Look at Silly Jilly! She only has one eye open!" Hee! Hee! We get out to find that indeed he is right. She only has one eye open because the other eye is sealed shut with a mound of gross discharge seeping from her tear duct! We clean her eye and once she can open it, we see that it's swollen and red!

Hmmm...Tar, vomit, and now possibly pink eye? We are only on day two, what could be next? I started thinking maybe I needed to throw out the heart shaped rock I took from Refugio State Beach. It seems to be cursed like the Tiki Idol the Brady Bunch found in Hawaii!

Of course it was Sunday and Silly Jilly's MD was not in, so I called the advice nurse line hoping they could just diagnose over the phone and send a prescription our way. I sat and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited some more. At least we were at a great park where the kids could play and had a beautiful view of Morro Rock.

After close to an hour on hold we decided to just start driving and hope we could speak with someone while on the road. Unfortunately after 15 more minutes of "We are experiencing a high volume of callers, please remain on the line and we will handle the calls in the order they were received" I abruptly lost cell phone reception and my call was ended! Not wanting to wait on hold for another hour and a half we decided to wait until the next day and speak directly to Silly Jilly's MD.

Our next stop was to San Simeon, CA so we could see the elephant seals. I was really excited about this leg of our trip. We had heard hundreds of elephant seals come to this area and can been seen lounging on the beaches. So immediately when we reached the town we began stopping at every vista point. And we didn't miss a one:

No elephant seals here!

Or here:

Or even here:

There didn't seem to be any elephant seals or any indication that there would be any in the near future. I was starting to feel bummed, because as I said before I was really looking forward to seeing them. At least there were beautiful views:

Then we stopped at this place and guess what?

There were no elephant seals! Just huge rocks on the beach that initially tricked me into thinking I was seeing one.

Then we pass a sign that said, "Elephant Seal Vista Point 1/4 mile". That's when it dawned on me, my Dad had mentioned something about a sign. I mistakenly shared this little tid bit of information with Papa Z and let's just say he didn't get quite the kick out of my little mind slip as I did.

So we pull in next to the other 100 cars-which thinking back on it, maybe we should have known there weren't any elephant seals on the other beaches since there were a handful to no cars at the other vista points...Oh well, live and learn.

We get out of the car and immediately hear snorts and barking. Yay! This is so cool! We walk over and see several of these huge beasts sunbathing.

We are told by a guide that the seals are mainly males and they are out of the water to molt.

The whole family was amazed by these creatures and we stayed for awhile to watch in awe. Among hundreds of people Zany Janie's curious mind loudly asked, "Mommy, what's that noise they make? Are they farting?" Yep, that's my girl! The people around us were trying to be adults about it, but had a difficult time not laughing.

Next we drove a very windy road along the coast. After several hours we stopped at a coffee shop/art gallery and Papa Z parked right in front of...We'll I'll just let you make up your own mind about what it's suppose to be:

Yeah, I'll just leave it at that!

Our final destination before retiring to our hotel was the Pebble Beach 17-mile drive.

The white beaches were beautiful! We saw both deer and sea lions. And Papa Z and I joked about buying a vacation house. The best part of it was there was no vomit, crying, or drama!

So does the drama continue? In the end do I throw out the heart rock for fear it is a Tiki Idol similar to the one that haunted the Bradys? Stay tuned!

Our super zany vacation!

2010-08-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

The Zany family decided to go on a road trip this summer from our house in Southern California to Seattle, WA. As we began telling friends and family about our plans we could tell by the look on their faces or the tone in their voices that they thought we were down right insane. Three zany kids under the age of 5 driving up the coast in our trusted Nester (AKA: The mini-van) was just not their cup of tea I guess...But for us it was an adventure we were looking forward to!

The day of our departure finally arrived! We loaded good 'ol Nester with enough gear to last us two weeks and still had room to spare! Everyone was giddy with excitement and anticipation for what was to come!

Our "Cation" as the kids called it was officially on! We made one quick stop a couple of miles down the road at our bank and wouldn't you know, Miss Zany Janie had to go potty! "Really sweetie? It's been a whole 5 minutes since you last went potty, can't you hold it?" As you can imagine this conversation took place multiple times throughout our trip.

If you are like most people, you may have thought, "How in the heck can you entertain little kids for a two week road trip?" The answer is simple, with beautiful scenery and lots of sing-a-longs! NOT! I would like to say the kids mainly looked out the window and admired the beauty of America, but if truth be told we brought a baby sitter along. And this sitter doesn't even charge! It was our car DVD player! I know, "Tsk tsk!" just escaped from many of my reader's lips. But I'm guessing you are the ones who don't have a built in DVD player in your car. I was like so many of you at one time in my life. Driving down the road and rolling my eyes as I passed a van playing Finding Nemo thinking, "That will never be me!" But like so many other things in our lives you don't know what you're missing until you have one. So we passed many hours with the kids watching DVDs-we did throw in an educational one in the mix here and there.

Each Zany kid also had their own backpack filled with toys and crayon bags filled with brand new coloring books, stickers, and crayons. I also made a mini photo album for Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky filled with pictures of things they would see on our trip (i.e. Space Needle, shells, ocean, semi trucks, etc...) and explained to them early into our trip that they could use their stickers to mark each picture when they "spied it".

Both kids were excited about the photo album, but Wacky Zacky took it very seriously. Zany Janie on the other hand immediately began putting stickers on each page taunting Wacky Zacky that she was winning.

Our first scenic stop was to Refugio State Beach. It was such a beautiful beach with unique rocks dotting the sand. We were able to stretch our legs and the kids could burn off some energy running up and down the beach.

We were all feeling relaxed and at peace until we got back into the car and noticed a thick coating of tar covering our feet! We have been to beaches in Southern California multiple times and have never had an issue with tar. Apparently some of the beaches North of LA can leave tar on your feet! I was so grossed out about the tar that I immediately started scrubbing my feet with baby wipes. For those of you that don't know, baby wipes can clean practically anything! Anything that is expect for tar on your feet. It seemed the harder I scrubbed on my feet the worse it got. I decided to call my sister for advice on this sticky situation. She looked it up on the Internet and found several recommendations from toothpaste to abrasive cleaners. Each recommendation advised NOT to get the tar wet-well, good thing I've been scrubbing my feet with WET baby wipes for the past 45 minutes! Since we wouldn't get to our hotel for several hours I sucked it up like the rest of the family, let the tar on my feet harden, and proudly continued my day in flip flops with 1/2 an inch thick of tar clinging to my feet.

We made our way to Solvang, CA and before entering the city limits we came across this little gem:

Yes, you are reading the sign correctly, "Ostrich Land". It is a total tourist trap and we stopped fully knowing it was a tourist trap, but come on, how often do you find a place called Ostrich Land? They charge $4.00 for adults and $1.00 for children then an extra $1.00 to feed the beasts, I mean birds. Knowing it would be totally hokey we decided I would be the chosen one to take Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie to the Land of the Ostrich while Silly Jilly and Papa Z hung out in the junk shop (AKA: Gift shop). I decided since we were there we might as well take in the whole experience and forked over the extra $1.00 so the kids could feed them.

Of course the place was set up so you couldn't see what you were getting yourself into. They took us around the corner and told us to read the sign while they prepared the food. The sign was hand written and basically told us to hold on for dear life when we fed these beasts! "Two hands on the pan at all times...Birds can bite if you don't hold it exactly as we recommend...try to keep the pan on the fence....blah, blah, blah..." Then they handed me a dog bowl filled with food that had been super glued to a dust pan. I reluctantly took the dust pan regretting my decision to get the "full experience" and led my two kids out into "Ostrich Land". And Land of the Ostrich it was!

There were Ostriches everywhere you looked! It was a nice touch seeing the sign tacked to the post saying, "Yes, we like to bite"! I decided to show Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie how to feed an Ostrich and marched right up to the fence with my dustpan held out. Next thing I knew there were 5-6 long necks sticking out of the fence trying to yank the dust pan free from my quivering hands. I nearly plowed Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie over as I back peddled before one of those beasts went for my face! Pushing down the urge to flee this horrible place, I calmly regained my composure and looked down at my dog food bowl which was still 1/2 full. I contemplated "accidentally" dumping the remaining food so we could leave, when Wacky Zacky said in his little angel voice, "Mommy, you still need to give them the rest of the food!". I decided to move over to the kinder and gentler Emus. I remained a good 4 feet back from the fence-which after my experience with the Ostriches I didn't care if they had to stretch their necks a little for my own safety! Once the food was gone I couldn't breath a sigh of relief until we actually walked through the exit doors, but not before stopping for a rare photo op:

I only had a few minutes to recover from Ostrich Land before we arrived to the city of Solvang, CA. It is a very unique Dutch style town.

We walked around window shopping and passed several authentic places to eat. When it came time to eat Wacky Zacky insisted on pizza. So there we sat at the only pizza joint in the whole town surrounded by other families with young children wishing we were eating authentic Dutch food.

We finally made our way to our hotel and I immediately began slathering my feet with toothpaste. When that didn't do the trick I started rubbing them with Josh's toothbrush. What, you didn't think I'd use my own did you? After 45 minutes of scrubbing, my feet were free of the tar, but not from the yucky brown stain! They may have looked bad, but at least they were minty fresh!

This was just one day of our crazy zany vacation! Stay tuned for the next leg of our trip!

Glitz and Glamour

2010-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

It doesn't happen too often, but I recently had one of those moments where I had to live and learn. I wear very minimal make-up and I'm not really loyal to any one brand. So every time I go shopping for make-up I end up with something different. I recently ran out of pressed powder and was browsing the isles for something new. I came across a pressed powder bronzer with four different colors in it. The colors were all on the light side so I decided I'd try substituting my pressed powder for a bronzer. For those of you who are old pros with make-up I"m sure you are probably gasping in horror! I didn't know any better!

So the next day I was running late and quickly applied the bronzer to my face just like it was pressed powder. It was really hot outside so I had the lights off to try to keep the bathroom cooler. Off I rushed to take the kids to story time at the library. It wasn't until I pulled into the parking lot of the library and did a booger check (come on, you all do it!) that I realized that I looked like a cross between:

A vampire from the Twilight Series

AND

Snookie from Jersey Shore

Let me tell you, it was attractive! I guess you live and learn! The Zany kids have no clue how cool their Mama is! I'm guessing they will let me know just how cool I am when they are teenagers!

Wanna feel like Popeye?

2010-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Feeling a little puny? Need a pick-me-up? Then I may have the recipe just for you! I have an Artichoke-Spinach Dip that may leave you singing, "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!" Toot-Toot!

ARTICHOKE-SPINACH DIP

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped artichoke hearts (you can use canned or frozen)

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed

8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash ground pepper

Crackers, chips, bread to dip

Directions:

Boil the spinach and artichoke hearts in a cup of water until tender and drain when done. Heat cream cheese in the microwave until hot. Add the spinach and artichoke hearts to cream cheese and stir. Add the remaining ingredients to the cream cheese and combine. Serve HOT with crackers, chips or bread.

Zany thought of the day: Do you remember Popeye's friend Wimpy? "I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger, today." It's too bad that quote never really caught on...

BUSTED!

2010-08-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Your gut reaction when seeing the title of this post may have left you thinking, "Okay, which Zany kid was busted and what were they doing?" Well, for once it was not me busting one of the kids, but rather one of them busting me out! You see I have a dirty little secret. One that I don't share very often...And this secret was caught and shared by my 4-year-old son, Wacky Zacky. You see, Wacky Zacky has a digital kids camera. He recently found it and started taking snapshots of everything. When I say everything, I mean the floor, the ceiling fans, the walls, etc...Most pictures are blurry and if there is a figure in it you can rarely make out what or who it is because Wacky Zacky is off to the next picture before he snaps the first one. That being said, it is rather remarkable that the one picture out of 50 on his camera was the one that busted me out! He snapped a clear picture of...Are you ready?...Maybe you should sit down for this one...

Bo Brady!

For those of you that don't share my dirty little secret, Bo Brady is a main character on the Soap Opera Days of our Lives.

Yep, that's right, Wacky Zacky got a great picture of Bo Brady to proudly show Papa Z when he got home from work! And Papa Z wonders what we do all day when he's at work! I guess the cat's out of the bag now!

Zany thought of the day: So how many of you out there can honestly say you've never watched an episode of Days of our Lives? Come one, I know you've seen bits and pieces of it when you were channel surfing when sick or when on vacation. It's hard to look away when Marlena is being possessed by a devil or when they replace an actor on the show and explain it away with a face transplant-not once, but twice! If you've never watched it before I'm guessing you'll be rushing off to watch it now!

Awesome August Sale

2010-08-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already August! Where did the summer go? To celebrate this AWESOME month I am having an Awesome August Sale in my online baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras. Throughout the month of the August you will receive a FREE mucus monster with any "Zany Baby Gift Set" purchase! To redeem just indicate the mucus monster you would like from my shop in the "Notes to Seller" section during checkout.

Silly Jilly has followed in her sibling's footsteps and is now modeling clothes for my baby boutique. As you can see she takes her job very serious!

On the creative side, I have been working on some new Zany Cuddle Blankies. I hope to add them to my shop in the near future!

Silly Jilly has fallen in love with the one I made her!

I hope you all have an awesome and zany month of August!

E is for Exercise

2010-07-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

I have always been an active person. I love sports and would rather play something than watch it. I went through a difficult time with Silly Jilly's pregnancy, early on I had a few problems and had to modify my exercising. Then I had an emergency C-Section which put exercising on hold for another 8 weeks. Once I was able to start back up, I found myself so out of shape that it was no longer fun and to be honest trying to workout absolutely sucked! I slowly started to exercise and found I disliked it so much that I had to put a lot of effort into actually getting myself up off the couch to even begin some form of it.

My options were limited. I couldn't afford to join a gym. The gym at our clubhouse didn't provide childcare and didn't allow kids in the workout room. There's no way I could run pushing all three kids! It wasn't until I came across the WII EA Sports Active that I began to enjoy exercising again.

It provides several full body workouts to choose from with 15 minute to one hour sessions. You can even create your own workout on it. Just from using it for a few months, I have lost weight and noticed some definition coming back. My workouts are finally becoming enjoyable again. The program also keeps me in check because the remotes make sure you are doing each exercise correctly and will not let you move forward in the workout until all reps are completed. No more cheating!

The kids also love to follow along with the routines, but don't count on them being there and supporting you during the harder exercises. You can find them sprawled out on the couch complaining about how hard it is and when will it be over?

This program may not be for everyone, but for me it has been a lifesaver!

Zany thought of the day: What's your favorite form of exercise?

Mr. Peepers and Family Resemblances!

2010-07-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

So Aunt Ju Ju has taken it a step further...Since the birth of Silly Jilly, Aunt Ju Ju has said she thought Silly Jilly looks just like a Bush Baby (See "Possibly the best call ever" post). Here lately I have not heard any of those snarky comments. I should have known something was up, especially when Aunt Ju Ju said she sent a package our way and we would have no question knowing which gift was for Silly Jilly. But I didn't think anything of it and just assumed it would either be a baby toy or something she had made for Silly Jilly. It wasn't until I opened the package and saw two giant eyes staring back at me that I knew Aunt Ju Ju had just been laying low so she could catch me off guard! Inside was none other than:

Mr. Peepers

A BUSH BABY Beanie Baby!

How she found this creature, I'll never know! But leave it up to her to find a Bush baby toy! And of course Silly Jilly absolutely loves it! She has no clue it was given to her as a gag gift!

As for my baby looking like a Bush Baby, I just don't see it...However I was a little taken aback when I downloaded some pictures from the Fourth of July and came across this gem:

Maybe my sister is onto something...There may be a Bush Baby gene on Papa Z's side of the family!

Create your own Monster Giveaway!

2010-07-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Team EtsyBaby is doing Giveaways all summer on their blog and this week you can enter to win a "Create your own monster shirt" from my online baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras! How much fun would it be for you and your little one to design your own monster shirt? Now you can! You can pick any monster in my shop (each one has it’s own unique name) and then pick the colors you would like him to be-Red, Purple, Blue, Pink…The options are endless! I have access to a variety of colors to choose from. To enter this monsterlicious giveaway go to the EtsyBaby Blog! Good Luck!

One Fish, Two Fish...

2010-07-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Aunt Ju Ju and Uncle Boo Boo we were able to sign Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky up for private swimming lessons. Today was their first session and I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that someone named Kyle, whom I assumed would be a kid, was going to have the pleasure of wrangling my two Zany fish for half an hour while I got to sit back on the sidelines and watch. The morning started off with cheers that today was finally the day they would start their swim lessons. As we began packing up the car to head to the pool Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky were cheering/shrieking "Kyle! Kyle! Kyle!" with as much enthusiasm as a chimpanzee house at feeding time. The cheer continued on our way to the pool with other random words thrown in for good measure: "Kyle! Yeah! Kyle! Pool! Poop!" I think it may be close to impossible for those two to go over two minutes without saying the word "Poop". It's wonderful when you are trying to have a serious conversation with them!

But, back to the story-"Kyle! Kyle! Kyle!" On and on it went until we got to the pool and thankfully the cheers stopped. We go in and the infamous Kyle comes up to us and asks if this is Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky. He attempts to engage the two in a conversation and it's like a switch has been turned off and they are silent. If only he knew what was going on not 15 minutes ago! They get into the pool and begin their first ever swim lessons. I was happy when he took one look at them in the water and bypassed the bubble blowing drills and went right to the beginning stages of back stroke and freestyle. The kids were a lot braver than I thought they would be and I think I was the most anxious one of the bunch as I sat pool side and watched my two babies in the water without their life vests. I must admit Kyle lived up to all the hoopla the kids had given him, because he wrangled them like a pro-the kids remained calm and followed all of his instructions. There were only a few times that Zany Janie caught him off guard and smacked him in the face as she tried to use both arms to do a stroke rather than alternate them.

At the end of practice Kyle pointed to the starter blocks and asked Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky if they wanted to jump off of them. I tried to refrain from a giggle as I thought , "Yeah right! Fat chance they are going to get up there and jump!" Then both kids nodded yes quickly, got out of the water, climbed up on the block, and jumped! I was so impressed I had to refrain from jumping up and cheering "Kyle! Kyle! Kyle!" That would have really been embarrassing!

Pinching Pennies by Pureeing!

2010-07-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

Once again I have found myself doing something I thought I'd never do. You may want to sit down for this one...I am actually making my own baby food! For those of you that don't know me, you might shrug your shoulders and say, "So, what's the big deal?" The big deal is I don't like to cook at all! Silly Jilly is baby number three and my first two seemed to survive eating Gerber's Brand baby food. So why the decision to make my own baby food? Unfortunately the main reason isn't because I want to keep from putting preservatives and additives into my baby's mouth-I know if I gave her the store bought food she'd be fine, I have living proof of that standing before me in Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie. Nor is the number one reason because I want to reduce waste. Even though it's a good reason especially when my little one can plow through two jars in one sitting. The number one reason that has gotten me into the dreaded kitchen boils down to saving money. Yes, I am one of those people who is easily motivated by making money and saving money. So when I first started buying baby food for Silly Jilly and was reminded of the price I started looking into other options. I found a wonderful website, Wholesome Baby Food, that stepped me through the process of making my own baby food. It is so easy and so much cheaper!

Step One: Purchase IN SEASON fruits or veggies.

Step Two: Peel/core/cut food into chunks and steam

Step three: Puree food and add water to needed consistency

Step four: Store in fridge or ice cube trays to freeze.

Step Six: Watch your happy baby gobble up the food you made.

Zany thought of the day: What's your favorite baby food combo?

Something to keep you COOL when it's HOT!

2010-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Summer is now in full swing and it is HOT! To help keep your little ones looking COOL in zany monster gear I am offering FREE SHIPPING in my online baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras, on all orders which total $30 or more before shipping fees! Discount will be refunded via Paypal after transaction is completed. (International shipping fees will be reduced 50% and discount will be refunded via Paypal after transaction is completed.) Also, check out the SALE section for other discounted items.

Beware: Having kids will change you!

2010-06-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Zany family among millions of other people recently went to see Toy Story 3. It was a great movie and the whole family loved it, but as I was sitting in the dark theater among a hundred strangers I found myself crying! I attempted several times to regain control of myself, but I could not stop those hot tears from streaming down my face. It was towards the end of the movie and I was sure the lights would come on any minute with a spotlight streaming down on me showing what a sap I was to be crying at an animated children's movie. As I was attempting to nonchalantly wipe away the tears with Silly Jilly's blanket I caught a sight out of the corner of my eye...Through the blur of tears I was barely able to make out Papa Z watching the movie with tears streaming down his face! I immediately giggled to myself and thought, "What a softy!" before realizing I too was crying right along with him. We left the theater both pretending the floodgates had never opened and focused on the kids. Safely in the confines of our car we attempted to talk about the movie, but neither of us could talk about the end without tears stinging our eyes.

Having kids has changed something in me! I've become "that person" you see who is soft and cries over any semi-sentimental thing! Talk about my kids going to college in 13+ years and I can't carry on a conversation! I am "that person" who I use to roll my eyes at and secretly mock! I can say today I am okay with being "that person"! I am a softy, what can I say? Now if only I can keep this secret from the kids because once it leaks out they will be using it as their #1 manipulation technique!

Zany thought of the day: Is it just me or does the character "Big Baby" from Toy Story 3 remind you of Chucky?

Bucket list worthy?

2010-06-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

If you have never stopped to see the "World's Biggest Dinosaurs" in Cabazon, CA you are missing out on a chance of a lifetime! It is a must for your bucket list...Well, maybe I shouldn't go that far, but if you find yourself driving on the I-10 anywhere near Cabazon, CA with nothing to do you should at least stop and take a picture in front of the two giant dinosaurs which are surrounded by mountains.

If you're still not excited, what if I told you this place was the exact location for one of the scenes from the film "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" from the 1980's? Yeah, I thought that would grab your attention!

If you have not had your full dinosaur fix after seeing the two dinosaurs pictured above you can always venture up the path to the Robotic Dinosaur Museum where you can:

Have your picture taken while sitting inside a dinosaur's mouth!

Dig for your own dinosaur bones!

Pan for "gemstones"! Warning: They use the word "gemstone" a little loosely! You are actually panning for pieces of goldfish gravel, which if you have little ones like me it will end up all over your house and you will be panning for those tiny pieces for the next 6 months!

See several robotic dinosaurs and a few knights on horses thrown in for good measure.

I must give you fair warning that in the mid-2000's a new owner took over and has been using the museum as a platform for his Creationist viewpoints. So there are several signs throughout the museum that discuss his views.

Before you leave don't forget to stop by the gift shop which is conveniently located in Dinny, the 150 foot long Apatosaurus's belly for all those must have touristy items!

Zany thought of the day: So what's the verdict-is this Bucket list worthy?

Superhero to Superzero!

2010-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Wacky Zacky: I've changed into a superhero and I can't ever change back into a kid!

Me: Good because Superheros clean the house!

Wacky Zacky: Not this Superhero!

A Princess and Pirate Party

2010-06-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Zany Janie recently turned 3 and to celebrate we had a party fit for a little princess! Well, actually we had a Princess and Pirate themed party because Zany Janie has so many boy friends who I’m sure wouldn’t be caught dead at a princess party!

Dressing up was optional and we had several princesses and a few pirates. We started the party with lunch-hotdogs, brots, and Mac-n-cheese-which I’m sure is every princesses dream! Then the kids played pin the hat on the princess or pirate. After they played the game they each got their own decorated princess or pirate bag which was filled with fun things for them to make. The princesses could make their own crowns, necklaces, and bracelets. The pirates could make their own hat, eye patch, and sword.

Next we separated the pirates from the princesses for their own scavenger hunts. The princesses went on a hunt for Disney Princess dolls which were hidden throughout the house using clues to guess which princess they needed to find. Each princess doll held a bag filled with jewelry for the princesses to wear. By the time the scavenger hunt was over the princesses were decked out head to toe in jewelry.

The pirates went outside where foam swords (purchased for $1.00 each at the Dollar store) and a treasure map awaited them. They went on a treasure hunt where they had to walk the plank, break out of jail, look through the telescope, slay a dragon, and dig through sand to find gold before they finally found a treasure box overfilled with gold, candy, and stickers.

Next the pirates and princesses got to hit a princess piñata. The girls loved it because it was decorated with princesses and the boys loved hitting the princesses with a bat so in the end everyone was happy.

We ended the party with a princess cake and presents.

I am happy to say we finally got through a Zany birthday party without any broken bones or ER visits! I can’t honestly say there weren’t close calls with the swords swinging, piñata busting, and sugar highs going on!

June Gloom SA*LE

2010-06-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here, but unfortunately we’ve hit June gloom! To help brighten your spirits during this gloomy month I am offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders which total $25 or more before shipping fees in my online baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras! Discount will be refunded via Paypal after transaction is completed. (International shipping fees will be reduced 50%)

I have added a recent addition to my Zany line of clothes! The Zany Zarkle Monsters can now be personalize with either a LETTER or a NUMBER! How much fun will your little one have wearing a shirt with either their initial or age on it?

Happy 3rd Birthday my little Monkey-bear!

2010-05-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today is a very special day in the Zany family ~ Zany Janie turns 3 years old! She is such a funny, silly, loving, and crazy girl! She has taught me so much in the past 3 years, of which many lessons if given a choice I may have passed on! Her favorite lesson to teach me is how it's so much more fun to be the center of attention when you'd really rather be a wallflower! I love you sweet girl and Happy Birthday!

My baby rattler

2010-05-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

I will begin this story by stating I rarely use the word hate, but when it comes to snakes I must admit I HATE them! We live in an area in Southern California where rattlesnakes are prevalent. You can talk to almost anyone in our community and they have their own tale of a run in with a rattlesnake. The Zany family has been fortunate enough not to have any close encounters with those nasty creatures. Nevertheless, when I am out in the community it's always in the back of my mind that one could be lurking close by...

While Wacky Zacky was at school we decided to go for a walk. Zany Janie was in the jogging stroller and Silly Jilly was tethered to me in a Moby Wrap. We were half an hour into the walk when I started hearing a soft rattling noise. I scanned the area and saw over grown bushes and lots of shady areas which would be perfect hiding places for a rattlesnake. I briskly walked away from the area making every attempt to remain calm. A few more feet down the street I started to hear the rattling sound again and this time it was louder! I quickly moved the stroller towards the street scanning the bushes for any movement. My mind was racing at this point and I was sure the first noise had been a baby rattlesnake and now I was close to it's mama! So I continued on our walk wanting to get off of this snake ridden street vowing I would never walk on it again! Next thing I knew there were loud rattling sounds coming from who knows where and I went into total flight mode and began running as fast as I could while pushing Zany Janie with one hand and grasping Silly Jilly with the other.

Once I was at a safe distance away from the source of the noise I stopped to catch my breath and check on Silly Jilly who had just gone on "Mr. Toads Wild Ride"! That's when I heard it, softly at first and gradually getting louder-a rattling noise was coming from Silly Jilly. I then realized Silly Jilly had a big booger hanging out of her nose that made rattling noises as she breathed in and out. Apparently the street wasn't overrun with snakes...It was just my Silly Jilly! A common mistake made by many I'm sure!

Zany thought of the day: Besides mistaking a booger for a rattlesnake what are other common mistakes you have made?